Aston Villa may have further reason to be concerned about the future of Ollie Watkins following the latest transfer update from Arsenal.

Late in the January transfer window, it emerged that the Gunners had made a bid of £60million to sign Watkins from Unai Emery’s side.

There were suggestions that the Aston Villa boss was far from happy with Arsenal over the Watkins bid‘s timing, and ultimately no deal materialised.

However, it could be argued that the latest news emerging around Arsenal, will restore some of those nerves for Emery and co. before the market opens again in the summer.

Arsenal dealt setback in Alexander Isak hunt at Newcastle
Watkins is not the only Premier League striker that Mikel Arteta’s side have been heavily linked with this season.

There has also been speculation of a move to Arsenal for Alexander Isak amid the Swede’s outstanding form for Newcastle this season.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the Magpies’ £120million price tag for the striker means a move to the Emirates in the summer appears “implausible”.

There is no escaping the fact that given how costly missed chances are proving for them, the Gunners are going to have to sign a striker when the window reopens.

Eddie Howe gain could be Unai Emery concern
With Isak seemingly out of the equation, that could prompt Arsenal to revisit their interest in Watkins at the end of the season.

Given the England international’s proven record of scoring in the Premier League, he would surely be an appealing alternative to the Newcastle man, especially given their already-established interest in him.

There have also been claims from some that Watkins could be available for a cheaper fee than Isak is, and at 29-years-old, there may be a point where Villa feel they have to accept an offer on the table for him.

Even so, losing him to the Emirates would inevitably still be a blow, not only because it would be a key player departing to strengthen a rival.

The January window of course also saw Aston Villa’s other key centre-forward option, Jhon Duran, sold to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, other attacking options brought in during the window such as Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are only on loan until the end of the campaign.

So not only would a move to Arsenal for Watkins cost Aston Villa a key man, it would also contribute to putting the club bang under pressure in their attempts to boost their attacking firepower this summer.

With that in mind, this latest update on Isak could prompt almost as much concern at Villa Park, as it would surely do at the Emirates Stadium first.