Should Ollie Watkins be the Premier League Player of the Season?

On Sunday, Emiliano Martinez made a noteworthy declaration following Ollie Watkins' scoring once again and Aston Villa's 2-0 victory over Arsenal. This win has boosted Aston Villa's chances of entering the top four, but has negatively affected Arsenal's campaign to win the Premier League.

Martinez believes that Ollie is deserving of being named player of the season. In Martinez's opinion, players who are on teams that are considered part of the 'Big Six' tend to receive more recognition, but Ollie has managed to score 19 goals despite the limited opportunities he's had. Martinez feels that Ollie should definitely be considered for the title.

Additional information: We gained 10 new insights from the 33rd week of the Premier League season.

It's undeniable that Watkins is a strong competitor, Emi. However, it's getting harder to argue that this 28-year-old British striker doesn't deserve to be the first home-grown player to win the Premier League's most prestigious award since Jamie Vardy achieved this feat during Leicester's incredible 2015-2016 championship win.

The Villa team achieved more than the 61 points they planned to get in 2022-23, thanks to their recent win. They managed to do this even though they faced difficulties from the busy European schedule. The team is only one match away from qualifying for the Conference League semifinals, and there is a good chance they might even make it to the UEFA Champions League.

The squad led by Unai Emery has achieved a total of 63 points, which gives them an advantage of three points over Tottenham, who are currently in fifth place and have played one less game. It seems that securing fifth place could be enough to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, since none of the teams below fifth seem to pose a real threat to catch up, considering the significant difference in points and only 5-6 games remaining in the competition.

However, concerning Watkins... my goodness.

Watkins has contributed more goals than anyone else in the Premier League this season, with a lead of three over Mohamed Salah. However, he is behind Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot award, as Haaland has scored more goals. Watkins is currently tied with Pascal Gross and Kieran Trippier with 10 assists each, making the Playmaker of the Season race very competitive.

Villa's Premier League season this year has brought in a total of 68 goals, and of those, 29 were scored by Watkins. Although big names like Haaland, Salah, and Kevin De Bruyne have had to sit out for a while, this has given Watkins the opportunity to shine and potentially become a leader in goal scoring or assists. However, it's important not to overlook his impressive resilience and ability to stay healthy throughout the season, which is also commendable.

Prior to moving on, we would like to share with you Watkins' response to Martinez's remarks.

Watkins expressed his appreciation for the positive feedback, but he prefers to showcase his skills on the field. He believes that his performance in the second half was satisfactory and he feels content with his overall play, even if he didn't score a goal. However, he admits that the successful "dink" was a pleasant addition to his game.

Watkins has been absent from just one Premier League match, during which his importance to the team became apparent as they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Man City. In contrast, he played the full 90 minutes in their 1-0 victory against the same team towards the end of 2023. In fact, he has played 73 minutes or more in all but one of his 32 appearances, and has even completed 90 minutes on 28 occasions - an impressive feat for a center forward. It's worth noting, however, that this award is solely based on performances in the Premier League and not other tournaments.

He's performing all of this with great skill, surpassing an xG+xA/90 statistic that only ranks 18th in the Premier League. When it comes to shots per 90 minutes, he's currently in 26th place.

Is he deserving of the accolade? He stands as a top contender, and may profit from the split of votes amongst other major teams. Rodri, Phil Foden, and Erling Haaland have displayed brilliance for Manchester City, while Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, along with Martin Odegaard, have been exceptional for Arsenal. As far as evident MVPs from one specific team, he may be surpassing Heung-min Son and Salah from the leading squads, and Cole Palmer and Bruno Fernandes from those outside that realm.

There are arguments for other candidates, but they are not as compelling as the argument for Watkins. The title is not yet determined and there is a possibility that voting will occur before the decision is made, making this a possible opportunity for Watkins to win.