Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins has been the talk of the town over the last few days after it was learned this week that Villa turned down an approach from Arsenal for their main man.

And, of course, Villa manager Unai Emery was asked about the future of Watkins in his pre-match news conference today.

He said: “The commitment of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment. He appreciates a lot how Villa was always supporting him and helping him, when we joined here two years ago how we were working with him and getting the best of him.

“Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa in the last years. I am speaking with him a lot, he is always adapting with every circumstances we have and of course when some teams calling us being interested in the players it’s very good for us and the players.

“Some players prefer to leave and some accept to stay here and commit with our challenges. One of them is Ollie Watkins.”