Aston Villa's former President of Football Operations Monchi

Aston Villa's former President of Football Operations Monchi has discussed Arsenal's pursuit of Ollie Watkins earlier this year, with the Gunners reportedly interested in signing the striker for a period of time. Roberto Olabe took over from the 57-year-old with immediate effect after the summer window closed, whilst Damian Vidagany continued in his position as Director of Football Operations.

Monchi occupied the role of President of Football Operations at Villa for slightly more than two years and was instrumental in the club's development under Unai Emery. Villa offloaded Diego Carlos, Jadon Philogene and Jhon Duran for close to £100million last January, with Duran making the switch to Al-Nassr for a huge fee, reports Birmingham Live.

Arsenal's pursuit of Watkins created additional complications at the time, though Villa remained steadfast in their refusal to part with their leading striker for anything below £60million.

"There was real interest in Watkins from Arsenal in the January transfer window," Monchi told Flashscore. "In this summer market there has been no formal offer.

"Let's see, in three months there is almost a...