Ollie Watkins wants to overtake Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and win this season’s Premier League golden boot, the striker has said after netting in Aston Villa’s 2-0 win at Arsenal.
England international Watkins scored the Villans’ second goal with a delightful chip three minutes from time to take his league tally to 19, putting him one behind 2022/23 winner Haaland.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m chasing [goals],” Watkins told BBC Match of the Day, having hit the inside of a post with a first-half finish before Leon Bailey put Villa ahead with an 84th-minute tap-in.
“I’m doing all that I can to help the team to win and for me to score as many goals and give as many assists to my teammates as possible. I definitely have my eyes on the golden boot. I’m not going to lie to you.”
Read our other football news stories here:
Arsenal v Villa: Arteta unhappy with defending
Klopp calls goals ‘horrible’ in Liverpool defeat
Spurs ‘nowhere near good enough’ – Postecoglou
Watkins, who is hoping to be called up by England for Uefa Euro 2024, has two more goals than the next-nearest English player vying for the Golden Boot – Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.
The 28-year-old’s 10 assists mean he has set up and scored four more times combined than any other player in the top flight.
Arsenal v Villa: Visitors ‘really strong’
Villa’s surprise win denied Arsenal top spot and moved Unai Emery’s side three points clear of Tottenham in the fourth position which will guarantee Champions League qualification.
Spurs have a game in hand but are in patchy form, suffering a second defeat in five games since winning 4-0 at Villa on March 10 when they were thrashed by the same scoreline at Newcastle on Saturday.
“I think Ollie should win player of the season” 👏
Emiliano Martinez believes Ollie Watkins is the best of the best 🤝 pic.twitter.com/k8CU7Gq132
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 14, 2024
“A lot of people doubted us or definitely favoured Arsenal coming into this game,” pointed out Watkins.
“We’ve been playing well and have been a bit lackadaisical and lost concentration, so today we showed we’re a really strong team and fighting for the Champions League.
“We grew into the game and played some really good football. We didn’t go long too much; the boss demanded that we played out and were brave.
“If we lost the ball and they scored from it, so be it – but that’s the game plan and it worked. We frustrated them and were really good in both boxes.”
