Ollie Watkins claims Kai Havertz’s late goal against Aston Villa SHOULD have counted in stunning admission after rescuing point against Arsenal
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Ollie Watkins has perhaps surprisingly suggested that Arsenal had struggled as they saw their third goal wiped away for a handball in Saturday’s thrilling 2-2 draw.
The Gunners took the lead through Gabriel Martinelli before Kai Havertz doubled the dominance shortly after the break, but Youri Tielemans and Watkins scored to level the score.
It comes on the same day that Liverpool left it too late to beat Brentford and widen the gap at the top of the table as Aston Villa again thwarted Arsenal in the Emirates.
However, as the Gunners pushed for the all-important fifth goal of the match, Havertz thought he had doubled his tally when Mikel Merino’s effort deflected off him in the dying stages of the match.
But after a VAR review it was concluded that the ball had hit the German striker’s arm, rather than his midriff, as Havertz had protested, and the match ended 2–2 with the points shared.
After the match, Watkins told Sky he was ‘not sure’ the right decision had been made, despite it being one that benefited his side.
Ollie Watkins rescued a point for Aston Villa but perhaps suggested Arsenal were struggling
![Ollie Watkins claims Kai Havertz's late goal against Aston Villa SHOULD have counted in stunning admission after rescuing point against Arsenal 1 Arsenal thought they had scored a winner late in the match before VAR ruled out the match](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737231392_305_Ollie-Watkins-claims-Kai-Havertzs-late-goal-against-Aston-Villa.jpg)
Arsenal thought they had scored a winner late in the match before VAR ruled out the match
![Ollie Watkins claims Kai Havertz's late goal against Aston Villa SHOULD have counted in stunning admission after rescuing point against Arsenal 2 It was a frustrating evening for the Gunners, who once again dropped points in the title race](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737231393_623_Ollie-Watkins-claims-Kai-Havertzs-late-goal-against-Aston-Villa.jpg)
It was a frustrating evening for the Gunners, who once again dropped points in the title race
‘When I see it there, I’m not sure. I think it turned out in our favor. “If that was against me I would be disappointed,” he told Sky Sports. ‘I’m not sure from that angle, but that’s what VAR is for.
‘We got the goal from Youri, we went up the field and he almost scored again. I got a lot of momentum from that and believed that as we continued with the transition, there were opportunities.
“We knew they were going man to man, Gabriel against me, Partey against Jacob, we were man to man at the back and a few times I could have done better in the first half.
‘Opportunities there are being taken advantage of and they [Arsenal] were always a bit open.’
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