Former Arsenal star Kieran Gibbs has applauded Unai Emery for the way in which he has handled the fallout from the collapse of Ollie Watkins’ proposed transfer to the Gunners. Villa turned down a bid from Arsenal for England striker Watkins earlier this week, reported to be in the region of £60million. Watkins, an Arsenal fan, has made no secret of his boyhood allegiancies in the past but Emery remains adamant he will remain at his current club who are a striker light folowing the decision to sanction Jhon Duran’s move to the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

‘Yes, he is happy to stay,’ the Spaniard said. ‘You can ask him, but we asked him how he is feeling every day, every year he has been here with Aston Villa, with us and without us. ‘We talked with him and he is very focused on the message we have. ‘The commitment of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment, he appreciates a lot how Aston Villa was always supporting him, helping him and when we joined him here two years ago, how we worked with him, always trying to get the best of him.

‘Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa. The conversation we are having usually, I am speaking with him a lot, he is always adapting of every circumstance we have in the squad and individually with him. ‘When there are some teams calling us being interested in the players of course it is very good for us and very good for the players. ‘Some players prefer to leave and some players accept to stay here, to be here and commit with us here and to be with our challenge. One of those is Ollie Watkins.’.

Gibbs, a former teammate of current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, admits it has been frustrating to see his old club miss out on another priority target but couldn’t hide his admiration for the way in which Emery has handled the situation. ‘It’s a bit disappointing that they didn’t try and go for this a bit earlier, especially with Jhon Duran leaving,’ Gibbs told ESPN FC. ‘I also like the bit of guilt tripping Ollie Watkins knowing full well that Arsenal is a dream move for him. We’ve known that over the last few years.’.

Should Arsenal fail to sign a forward before Monday’s 11.00pm deadline, the goalscoring burden will only increase on Kai Havertz who has hardly missed a minute of action over the course of the last two months. With Ethan Nwaneri returning to action after a brief spell out, Gibbs feels Arsenal are at least well catered for in the wide areas despite Bukayo Saka’s continued absence. He added: ‘They definitely should’ve dealt with this earlier in the window. I honestly think if Nwaneri had been out for longer and been that bit more aggressie.

‘If Nwaneri had been out the supply for the front line would’ve dropped significantly. Now that he’s back he’s not a like-for-like for Saka but he has enough in his armour to be able to provide the likes of Havertz and Martinelli the chances to score. ‘That being said I still think Arsenal should’ve been more aggressive this window. ‘I have to say Nwaneri has surprised me to the point where he has the ability and the poise to help Arsenal achieve something this season.’.