On Saturday at a sun-kissed Bournemouth, Watkins guided Morgan Rogers’ low cross into the bottom corner with a delicate, deft touch.
It was his 16th Premier League goal of the season – no other Englishman has more.
Longevity is key. Watkins has scored at least 10 league goals in all of his five seasons at Villa, helping him move ahead of Dwight Yorke, Dion Dublin and Juan Pablo Angel in the club’s top-scorer charts.
“It’s a big achievement. some unbelievable players have played for this club,” Watkins told BBC Match of the Day.
“You look at the names, so to be up there on the top of that I’m really proud. It’s great achievement.”
This season, Watkins has had to battle for a starting place with Jhon Duran, who then moved to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr for £71m in January, and Marcus Rashford, who joined on loan from Manchester United in the same window.
Watkins had started each of Villa’s first 14 Premier League matches, but was limited to two league starts and three substitute appearances in April, and didn’t start either of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final matches against Paris St-Germain.
With Emery preferring Rashford in the starting XI, speculation was rife that Watkins may leave Villa.
The club had already rejected a £40m bid for the England international from Arsenal in January.
But Rashford was ruled out for the rest of the season last month with a hamstring injury and, since then, Watkins has returned up front to shine again.
“He’s shown his weight in gold,” former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports.
“It’s not only his goals, but his team play. He works hard off the ball. He was chasing defenders in the last five minutes. He’s always looking what he can do to affect the game – that just shows how important he is.”
