Ollie Watkins improvement explained by Aston Villa team-mate John McGinn
Ollie Watkins continued his fine form for Aston Villa with the winning goal in last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League victory at Tottenham.
The England international showed superb composure to link up with Youri Tielemans and slot the ball past Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
That was Watkins’ seventh goal of the campaign, while he also has five assists to his name in what has been a superb campaign to date.
In all competitions, meanwhile, Watkins has 13 goals for club and country, which is already just three short of his tally from the whole of 2022-23.
Watkins’ upturn in form coincides with the arrival of Unai Emery, as 26 of his 55 goals for Villa have come since the Spaniard took charge.
Team-mate John McGinn believes his team-mate’s improved form in front of goal can be explained by one aspect of his game in particular.
“Maybe previously he would [get frustrated],” McGinn said, as quoted by the Express & Star [29 November].
“He’s very hard on himself, desperate to score all the time, desperate to be perfect. It’s impossible to be perfect in this league.
“On Sunday he had a couple of chances, but an outstanding goal, a great pass from Youri, brilliant movement, and a world-class finish.
“To be fair his mentality is changing. He’s not so hard on himself which is good. It’s really good for the team and he’s just been outstanding.”
That was clear to see against Tottenham, as Watkins found the net not long after having a goal chalked out for offside.
The former Exeter City ace found the net from his only (legal) attempt on target, while also leading the way for aerial duels won (four) for good measure [WhoScored].
His movement, plus the attacking qualities of his team-mates, ensures he is often in the right place at the right time.
In fact, only Nicolas Jackson (7.8), Mohamed Salah (9.1) and Erling Haaland (13.4) have registered a higher expected goals tally than Watkins’ 7.7 in the Premier League this term [FBref].
Watkins is no longer beating himself up after missing chances, bur not is he missing as many chances as previously.
As per Sofascore, Watkins has a goal conversion rate of 18% in the Premier League this season, which is a big increase on his most recent full season without Emery in charge in 2021-22 (14%).
Indeed, the 27-year-old is scoring from more shots shots on target per 90 mins than at any point in his four years as a Premier League player.
Watkins has a figure of 0.41 this term [FBref], compared to 0.31, 0.32 and 0.30 over the previous three seasons respectively.
That is a noticeable leap, as is the 3.12 shots per 90 he is registering in the Premier League – up from 2.42 last season.
Watkins is well on his way to registering double figures for goals for a seventh successive league season, and long may that continue.
As long as he keeps his new-found coolness in front of goal, the sky is the limit for Villa’s star attacker.
In other Aston Villa news, one player proved his worth to Emery with an 87% performance against Spurs.