Mikel Arteta refused to comment on talk of Ollie Watkins moving to Arsenal - but said "let's see what happens".
The Aston Villa frontman has been heavily linked with a move to the Gunners with the north Londoners making a £60million approach to land the England striker. Watkins has continued to impress at Villa Park and Arsenal are looking to bolster their frontline.
Time is running out for Arteta to land the firepower he so desperately needs and moves have been made to sign the ex-Brentford striker. Arsenal have been unable to land a No 9 in recent windows which has meant Kai Havertz has led their line predominantly.
Gabriel Jesus is out for the season with an ACL injury and, with days left of the January transfer window, Arsenal are considering raiding their Premier League rivals with their Spanish manager confident something can get done.
Arteta was quizzed on the Watkins links following his side's 2-1 Champions League win at Girona and said: “I can’t talk about any of that. My confidence is that we have an amazing club with people always working to try and improve. Let’s see what happens.”
Arsenal are looking to end a five-year wait for a trophy. They need to make up ground on Liverpool if they want to land the Premier League title whilst they're trailing 2-0 in their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle with the return leg still to come.
Villa meanwhile, who are into the round of 16 in their first ever Champions League campaign, have seen offers come in for Jhon Duran as well as Watkins. Duran is the subject of Saudi interest with big money on the table but Unai Emery backed out of commenting on the negotiations regarding his two strikers.
On Watkins, he said: "I know you want to ask about it, but I told you, today is not the day." On Duran, he added: "Tomorrow or Friday we can talk about the transfer, or maybe next week, until everything is done I don't want to speak, because in football everything can happen. The club is working and trying to compete in the transfer window because we need some players. Some can leave, but it is not time to speak about it."
Watkins, who scored an iconic last minute winner in the Euro 2024 semi-final, has admitted on a number of occasions in the past that he is a supporter of the North Londoners, and expressed a wish to one day represent them.
Speaking to the Sports Gazette at the 2020 London Football Awards, Watkins said: “That’s the dream, to play for Arsenal one day. But, you know, it’s a long shot."