Ollie Watkins was told that he is not for sale in January after an offer from Arsenal with Unai Emery who is insisting that the striker is happy to stay in Aston Villa.
The Gunners made a bid for Watkins-hours before Villas 4-2 victory over Celtic in the Champions League last Wednesday, although Villa close to the sale of Jhon Duran, their other Center-Forward, sold to Al Nassr, with that deal expected by to go on Friday.
Emery would only say after the Celtic that he wanted to keep Watkins 'in Villa Park', but he was much clearer on Friday.
Asked if he could declare that Watkins was not for sale, Emery said: 'Yes, yes. We spoke with him and he is very focused on the message we have.
“He is happy to stay. You can ask him, but we asked him how he feels every day, every year he has been here with Aston Villa, with us and without us. '
'The dedication of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment. He appreciates a lot of how Aston Villa always supported him, helped him, and when we arrived here two years ago, how we worked with him, always try to get the best of him.
“Now we need him, as if he needed Aston Villa. I talk to him a lot and he always adjusts to every circumstance that we have in the team.
'When some teams call us to show interest in the players, it is of course very good for us and very good for the players.
'Some players prefer to leave and some players accept to stay here, to be here and commit themselves to us. One is Ollie Watkins. '
In the meantime, Villa Transfer Chief Monchi said on Thursday that the club was interested in Chelsea attacker Joao Felix and Marco Asensio, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
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