Ollie Watkins could land his dream shirt number at Arsenal (Image: Getty)
could land a fairytale move to this January, and the Gunners have something to sweeten the deal even further.
striker Watkins grew up an fan and openly admitted, while still playing for Brentford in 2020, that turning out for the north Londoners would be a ‘dream’. An opening bid was reportedly rejected by Villa on Wednesday but a second offer is believed to be in the works.
If the two clubs manage to agree a fee, fans may not be far away from seeing Watkins posing for pictures with his new red and white jersey. The 29-year-old shouldn’t need long to decide which number is on the back.
The No.14 shirt has been vacant since Eddie Nketiah left for Crystal Palace last summer. Prior to that, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Theo Walcott enjoyed long stints with the jersey, but it was the player before them who truly made it famous.
Thierry Henry racked up 226 goals in 370 games for , and every single one of them was scored with 14 on his back. The Frenchman even kept the number during subsequent stints at Barcelona and New York Red Bulls.
Watkins wears No.11 at Villa, which is occupied by Gabriel Martinelli at . But something even better could be on its way to him if ‘s second bid proves too tempting for Villa to turn down.
Thierry Henry is Arsenal’s record goalscorer (Image: Getty)
The Villa man’s admiration for Henry should make it an obvious choice. And the fact Watkins wore 14 during his final season at Exeter City in 2016/17 only makes it more likely.
“[Henry] was the main man,” Watkins told Sky Sports last year. “He’s the best player to play in the . He was a joy to watch. When I was younger I used to find full games boring, but whenever Thierry had the ball, I was excited and thought he was going to create something, that’s kind of what drew me to him.”
Watkins may not challenge Henry’s goals total at but he has established himself as a reliable scorer in the , having hit double figures in every one of his five seasons.
The 29-year-old has also produced at international level, scoring a clinical 90th-minute winner in last year’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands and bagging five goals for the Three Lions in total.