A late pivot to focus on the forward line led to an opportunistic attempt to sign Ollie Watkins and discussions over Alvaro Morata

Arsenal remain interested in finalising a deal for Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins before the end of Transfer Deadline Day. The Gunners lodged an enquiry to sign Watkins last week, but their initial offer of €48 million (£40m) was immediately rebuffed by Unai Emery’s side.

Villa have already raked in a hefty £64 million transfer fee when they sanctioned Jhon Duran's sale to Al Nassr, so a cash influx at this stage is insufficient to justify a sale for Watkins. Romano also noted exclusively to GIVEMESPORT that Unai Emery was "pushing internally" to avoid parting ways with his man this window.