In a recent interview with the club’s official website, Emiliano Martinez labelled his Aston Villa teammate Ollie Watkins as the ‘best signing’. The former Arsenal keeper said (transcripted by HITC), “He was killing himself for not scoring for nine games, but he was doing really well, holding the ball up and running the channels and defending from him, but he wasn’t scoring.
“I talked to him and said ‘mate you are giving so much, you are so important for us’.
“I think he’s the best signing so far this football club and now he’s scoring game after game.”
Watkins’ Rollercoaster Debut Season At Villa Park
Watkins has experienced an up-and-down season at Villa Park thus far as he has struggled to bang in the goals consistently in the Premier League. However, he deserves a lot of plaudits for scoring 12 goals and grabbing two assists in 24 matches for the Villans this term across various competitions.
The English striker has effected the game at both ends of the field because he is averaging 0.7 tackles, 0.5 clearances, 3.0 shots, 1.2 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game in the Premier League this season. However, he needs to improve his accuracy when distributing the ball in the attacking third after completing only 71% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).
What Does The English Marksman Offer On The Pitch?
Watkins has decent pace under his belt and can make some hard-working runs in the final third. He has got a good leap in him that helps him contest for the ball in the air. The ex-Brentford striker is usually a good finisher in front of the opponent’s goal and can sometimes find the back of the net with a few well-directed headers as well.
The English attacker is quick and agile enough to get into some dangerous areas on the offensive end of the field. He has shown great maturity to make such a smooth transition from the EFL Championship to the Premier League this season.
Can Watkins Keep His Recent Form Going In The Remainder Of This Campaign?
Watkins is only getting better with each game as he seems to have settled into Dean Smith’s first-team quite well by now. Hence, there is no reason why he can’t keep his good form going over the next few months as the Villans look to push for a European place in the Premier League table.
With some decent run of fixtures coming up against Brighton and Hove Albion, Leicester City, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the coming weeks, Watkins can expect to have plenty of opportunities to add a few more goals to his Premier League tally which stands at 10 at the moment.
