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Dean Smith heaps praise on 'selfless' Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins after he reached double figures for the season with early winner against Arsenal

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith was full of praise for match-winner Ollie Watkins following the 1-0 victory over Arsenal and said he was not surprised by the impact the striker has made so far at Premier League level.

Villa paid a club-record fee, reported to be £28million potentially rising to £33m, to sign Watkins from Smith's former club Brentford in September after the 24-year-old scored 26 Championship goals in 2019-20.

His second-minute effort in Saturday's 1-0 contest at Villa Park was his 10th league goal of this season, and fourth in five games.