Ollie Watkins appears to replicate iconic celebration of his hero Thierry Henry after rocket

Boyhood Arsenal fan Ollie Watkins may have channelled his inner-Thierry Henry with a wonder strike against West Ham.

The Aston Villa and England striker helped secure the three points with the third goal in a 4-1 home win, and it was one of his best yet.

Collecting the ball on the left hand side, he took it into the area and tricked everyone by hitting it with his weaker left foot, flashing it past Alphonse Areola just inside the near post.

Running off to the corner flag, Watkins put his hand on the pole and leant on it, akin to Henry’s regular celebration for Arsenal.

That may not come as a surprise, with the Torquay-born striker previously revealing the Gunners legend was his childhood hero.

Speaking in 2022, Watkins said: “Growing up, I was a big Arsenal fan. Thierry Henry [was the one I looked up to].

READ MORE PREMIER LEAGUE

“I think he is the best player to play in the Premier League. He could do everything.”

The goal was Watkins’ fifth of the season in the league, and ninth all in all for club and country this season, scoring for England against Australia during the international break.

It continued a rapid rise from League Two to the top flight for the 27-year-old, but he wasn’t quite the story of the match.

That was instead former Arsenal target Douglas Luiz, who scored twice in the game, with Leon Bailey netting the other, while Jarrod Bowen got West Ham’s consolation.

Most read in Football

The victory made it 11-straight Premier League home wins for Unai Emery's Villa, who sit two points off of leaders Manchester City.

The new talkSPORT match centre

Keep up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results and standings in our new match centre.

ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifKe7zq2ZmqScZH53fZBsbG9nn6G5qrGMsJito5mjwG7Ax6Kcq6qpYrWmutGyZJydnJqvs63ToqanZZGowbC6jK%2BgpaSRYq6zv8SnmKVlp5rAtXnHmqRo