Arsenal would have stood a better chance of signing Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa if Al Nassr moved ahead with their plan to sign Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen in the January window.
The Gunners failed to add a single player to their squad in the winter market.
After losing both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus to significant injuries, Mikek Arteta was keen to bring in a forward.
According to The Athletic, despite discussions with Villa over a possible deal for Watkins, nothing eventually happened.
The possibility of a Watkins transfer was first floated during discussions between the two club hierarchies when both teams played each other in the Premier League on January 18.
Villa were looking to sell one of Watkins or Jhon Duran this window. Manager Unai Emery had struggled to accommodate both strikers in his starting line-up.
Emery was willing to allow one to leave in a bid to ease Villa’s PSR issues.
Villa were already in talks with Al Nassr about a possible transfer for Duran, but would have sold Watkins to Arsenal for £60m.
Watkins, who is a boyhood Arsenal fan, was excited about the chance of playing for the North London side.
On January 27, Arsenal submitted an opening bid of £40m, which was immediately rejected.
Arsenal intended to bid again, but when Al Nassr definitively decided to close a deal with Duran instead of Boniface, the Watkins transfer was suddenly off the table.
Arteta is now left with only Kai Havertz upfront for the rest of the season.
Leandro Trossard can play in that position, but with Saka not expected back for some time yet, that would further weaken Arsenal on the flanks.
EPL: How Al Nassr’s Boniface snub blocked Arsenal from signing Watkins in January window
