Ollie Watkins reveals Aston Villa frustrations amid Arsenal links | OneFootball

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has spoken about his recent slide down the pecking order, just a few months after Arsenal made a late January approach to sign him.

Watkins has started only one of five Villa games since the March international break, appearing off the bench in the other four across the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury last month and was subsequently left out of the England squad, the first chosen by new manager Thomas Tuchel.

In the games that Watkins has been a substitute, Marcus Rashford has been used centrally. But when Watkins replaced his compatriot against Southampton at the weekend with the score still 0-0, he was the one that kickstarted an eventual 3-0 win to push Villa within a point of the Champions League places.

"For me, I'm not happy to sit on the bench," Watkins said. "It's disappointing every game that I'm on the bench, but it's the manager's decision at the end of the day."

Watkins set Villa on their way to a 3-0 win at the weekend / Warren Little/GettyImages

After winning a penalty which Marco Asensio had saved, Watkins found the net with a creative lob on the stretch, bring up his Premier League tally to 14 for the season. This is the fifth consecutive top-flight campaign in which Watkins has hit double digit and is currently joint-seventh in the league top scorer chart.

It was that kind of proven record which made the England international an attractive option for Arsenal during the January window, making a bid after losing Gabriel Jesus to an ACL injury that was rejected.

His frustrating situation at Villa may not persist, but if he does contemplate moving on in the summer, Arsenal is no longer likely to be an option. The Gunners were recently reported to have cooled their interest and won't be returning with a revised offer in summer. Instead, they have other interest – Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Mathus Cunha – who are all younger.