Ollie Watkins sent clear nine-word Arsenal transfer message after brutal Unai Emery snub

Ollie Watkins was back on the Aston Villa bench for the Premier League clash against Manchester City on Tuesday evening. Due to a minor injury issue and the arrival of Marcus Rashford in January, the England international has started just two of Villa's last eight games in all competitions.

His most recent appearance from the off came against Newcastle this past weekend where Watkins put in a superb shift.

"We’ve put in a lot of hard graft the last few years to get to that position. And obviously I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games," Watkins admitted after the win over Newcastle on Saturday.

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"I’m not going to lie. I was fuming I wasn’t playing and I let him [Unai Emery] know that. But he’s the manager at the end of the day and you’ve got to respect his decision, but I’m not one of those players that’s happy to sit on the bench."

Despite his display at Villa Park, Watkins was removed from the starting line-up for the game against Man City which was key to their Champions League qualification hopes. Rashford justified his inclusion by scoring Villa's equaliser but with the game level, Unai Emery waited until the 76th minute to bring Watkins on.

In the end, Matheus Nunes struck a late winner which now means Villa are two points off the top five and four points behind Pep Guardiola's side. Delivering a verdict on what Villa must do now, Owen Hargreaves told Watkins 'if you’re not happy, play somewhere else' in a clear transfer message.

"Thing is they [Villa] need everybody," he told Premier League Productions. "They need Marcus Rashford, they’ve proven that, they need Ollie Watkins firing.

"They’ve got four games left, they’ve just got to get over the line because if they don’t get over the line they’re not playing Champions League, everybody’s future looks different, so they’ve got to get on board.

"Obviously Ollie has every right to be upset. But the best thing you can do is play like he did against Newcastle, finish the job, score goals, get them to the top four. If you’re not happy, play somewhere else, at 29."

. Ultimately, Jhon Duran was the Villa striker that left during the winter window instead.

Interest from the Gunners has also cooled ahead of the summer with those at the club seeing it as a unique market opportunity at the time. Watkins could still leave Villa Park in the next few months but unless Rashford returns on a permanent basis, his minutes will surely go back up.