Arsenal have turned their attention to Ollie Watkins as they try and secure January reinforcements for Mikel Arteta's attack. Villa have rejected a bid from the Gunners for their striker with the end of the winter transfer window looming less than a week away.

Arsenal managed Mikel Arteta refused to criticise VAR but slammed the defending for Ollie Watkins' equaliser in Saturday's 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

Mikel Arteta has blamed Arsenal's limited squad depth for their struggles keeping up with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. Saturday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa saw Arsenal drop six points behind the leaders,

However, on day 29, Arsenal tabled a £60 million bid to sign Watkins from Aston Villa, but that offer was rejected by Unai Emery’s side. Arsenal are expected to make another bid for Watkins, and Mikel Arteta’s previous comments about the England striker explains why he’s so keen to sign him.

Arsenal lost further ground on Liverpool in the title race, letting a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa. There were more injuries for Mikel Arteta to deal with before the game when William Saliba was ruled out with a muscular injury. Jurrien Timber covered at centre-back for the first time, with Thomas Partey moving to right-back.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wants to have a big squad available to him for the second half of the 2024-25 season, with the Gunners still in three different competitions

Arsenal's lack of squad depth was exposed as Aston Villa came from 2-0 down to draw in the Premier League on Saturday against an injury-depleted side at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said his team were "nowhere near the standards" demanded of them after surrendering a two-goal lead against Aston Villa.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 17:30). Here are the key lines from his news conference:

He was not even in the squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in midweek. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Villa fought back through goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to deal a potentially devastating blow to Arsenal’s title battle with Liverpool

Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Aston Villa have rejected an “official” £60 million bid made by Arsenal to sign Watkins.