Watkins hoping to disappoint his family against Arsenal | OneFootball

Ollie Watkins has admitted he’s hoping to disappoint his family when Aston Villa face Arsenal on Tuesday night.

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Arsenal host Aston Villa on Tuesday, which also happens to be Ollie Watkins’ 30th birthday.

Watkins hasn’t been in great form this season, but things have been picking up lately, particularly with the striker scoring twice in a win away to Chelsea on Saturday night.

The next game has particular significance to the player, not just because it’s against Premier League leaders Arsenal, but because Watkins’ family will be there supporting the Gunners.

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Far from hoping his family enjoy the game, Watkins has instead told the media he wants to send them home disappointed.

“I’ve got a lot of family coming to it that support them (Arsenal),” Watkins admitted.

“So they can be at the other end and hopefully watch me have the same outcome as [against Chelsea] in a couple of days.”

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As mentioned, Watkins hasn’t been at his best so far in 2025/26, scoring just five goals and assisting one in 25 appearances for Villa. Yet it’s fair to say things have improve in December, with five of those six goal contributions coming in his five league games so far this month.

That includes a brace in an away win over Brighton, an assist in a home win over Manchester United, and another brace in an away win over Chelsea.

Watkins was also constantly threatening against Arsenal in Villa’s 2-1 victory in early December, despite neither scoring nor assisting and wasting a big chance when in on goal against David Raya. He’ll hope to make his chances count this time around.