Aston Villa are not prepared to sell Ollie Watkins to Arsenal with Jhon Duran on the verge of signing for Al Nassr.
Arsenal held talks with Villa over the potential sale of Watkins earlier this week - but Villa do not want to sell both strikers in this window.
Duran has completed a medical in London and will fly to Saudi Arabia by the weekend, leaving Watkins as the only recognised centre-forward at the club.
Duran's deal to Al Nassr will need to be completed by 8.59pm (UK and Irish time) on Friday as the Saudi Pro League transfer window closes then.
Villa were angered hours before their Champions League match at home to Celtic on Wednesday as reports of Arsenal's talks for Watkins emerged.
Villa boss Unai Emery was asked about it after the 4-2 win at Villa Park and said: "I don't want [him to leave].
"It is good news to have an offer from other clubs, or interest, it is good. But we want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad.
"Every player can be in the market in case it is good for the club, the player and the team - but to get this deal of course we are going to be very demanding as well and Watkins is our striker."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about Watkins after his side's victory over Girona, but did not give much away. He said: "I can't talk about any of that. My confidence is that we have an amazing club with people always working to try and improve.
"Let's see what happens."
The talks for Watkins are believed to have started while there was still some uncertainty about Duran's departure.
It is not clear who initiated contact, but one source has told Sky Sports News that the chance to sign Watkins was proposed to Arsenal.
Arsenal value him at £40m - but the source claimed £60m was Villa's valuation - and the feeling is any potential deal would have required Villa to reduce their valuation.
Arsenal's long-term interest in Watkins remains, but the imminent departure of Duran means he is now expected to stay with Villa.
Arsenal's focus in this window changed once the severity of Gabriel Jesus' ACL injury became apparent and they still want to sign a new forward.
Watkins, known to be an Arsenal fan, is the Premier League's ninth-top goalscorer this season with 10 goals - including Villa's equaliser at Arsenal earlier this month.
The 29-year-old has five goals in 18 games for England, including the winner in last season's Euro 2024 semi-final victory against the Netherlands.
Back when Watkins was a Brentford striker in the Championship, he was asked in March 2020 whether he would want to join his boyhood club Arsenal and admitted it was "the dream" to turn out at the Emirates.
"Thierry Henry, as an Arsenal fan, was unbelievable to watch. He was my idol growing up," he told Sports Gazette.
"The dream is to play for Arsenal one day but it's a long shot. My family support them and stuff like that but that's the long term."
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