The timing of Arsenal’s bid for Ollie Watkins shows that in the case of Aston Villa, football’s wealthiest clubs smell blood.
Villa are furious that the Gunners made their offer for Watkins – a boyhood Arsenal fan – a matter of hours before a crucial Champions League clash against Celtic.
It risked unsettling a key player in the build-up to a major fixture but the football world has long known Villa need to make a big sale this month, and that is why Arsenal were prepared to upset them like this.