Ian Wright has reassured Ollie Watkins that he has a right to be frustrated with his growing appearances on the bench due to the competition of Marcus Rashford.
The Aston Villa striker has enjoyed another productive season with 16 goals and 13 assists to his name. He recently became the joint-highest goalscorer in Premier League history for the club with 74 goals – tied with Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Despite a fifth consecutive season of hitting double-digits, the England international hasn’t been a nailed on starter for Villa boss Unai Emery.
He faced staunch competition from Jhon Duran prior to the Colombian’s £64million move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in January, but was no given reprieve following the loan arrival of Rashford from Manchester United.
The 29-year-old has started just two of Villa’s last five league games and just two of their Champions League knockout stage games against Club Brugge. He managed only 25 minutes of action in both quarter-final legs against PSG, who progressed to the semis.
Watkins has openly voiced his annoyance at being dropped to the bench, with Wright pleased the striker has publicly stated his frustration of having to play second fiddle at points this season.
“When Jhon Duran was at Aston Villa, the form of Ollie Watkins was in and out,” the Arsenal icon said on Stick to Football podcast. “Ollie gives me the impression that when he is dealing with that kind of pressure, he doesn’t get the shout.
“With Marcus Rashford coming in, maybe he feels disrespected. Of course, he has every reason to be frustrated about what’s going on, and I’m quite pleased that he said he was fuming – as a striker, you want to be out there scoring goals.
“When he played against Newcastle and started that game, he was brilliant – that would’ve been enough for me to give him back his spot. If he’s not getting his spot back when he’s doing the right stuff, he’s going to be fuming.”
It was after Watkins’ impressive performance in Villa’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle – in which he scored and got an assist – that he revealed he was “fuming” in the bit-part role he had in their two games against the French champions.
“Champions League, we’ve put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position,” he told Sky Sports. “I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing.
“I let [Emery] know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench. It’s something I haven’t experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League.
“Me and a few others are disappointed we didn’t start the game but like I said, it’s the manager’s decision.” With Villa sitting seventh in the league with four games to go, just two points separate them and Newcastle in fifth – but focus is now on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.
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