Emery admits to emotional Watkins goodbye and says he should be fondly remembered

[p]The England international is closing in on a £50 million exit and will be replaced by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jackson-nicolas/jXg8d5RJ/"]Nicolas Jackson[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/watkins-ollie/rHnOkDD8/"]Watkins[/a] will follow [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konsa-ezri/4CQLQWTa/"]Ezri Konsa[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rogers-morgan/lp4jm80n/"]Morgan Rogers[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tielemans-youri/GtkTQyib/"]Youri Tielemans[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/digne-lucas/v9Ux4sua/"]Lucas Digne[/a] out of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Villa[/a] Park as the side that won last season's Europa League has been torn apart.[/p][p]But Emery said a disagreement over his availability last weekend should not mask Watkins's legacy after netting 108 times over the last six years.[/p][p]A depleted Villa conceded four goals inside the opening 31 minutes at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Brighton[/a] and also had [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/joao-gomes/rcOLZhUD/"]Joao Gomes[/a] sent off in the first half in a miserable start to the season.[/p][embed guid="5048348f-ec64-4921-a9d9-5a60100d5b95" url="https://www.instagram.com/astonvilla/reel/DcjcItzmz2Z/?hl=en" social-type="instagram" /][p][b]"Last week I was a little bit disappointed. I was disappointed, but we spoke about it, and now (it's) clear, he is a fantastic player, fantastic guy and one mistake is not closing all the good things he did here,"[/b] Emery said ahead of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a]'s visit to Villa Park [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/aston-villa-W00wmLO0/?mid=27MtCUO7"]on Monday[/a].[/p][p][b]"He was wrong, but we accepted it. The players as well because he always had very good behaviour and commitment with the club and with me.[/b][/p][p][b]"I told him 'bye' with a huge hug and with small tears. But now it's a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson."[/b][/p][p]Jackson will reportedly cost Villa an initial £47.5 million with a further £17.5 million in potential add-ons.[/p][embed guid="13b2f1d4-4311-4474-ab52-233bfdbfb07f" url="https://www.instagram.com/astonvilla/reel/Dcletw-tqB1/?hl=en" social-type="instagram" /][p]Goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-emiliano/ziCcc5jM/"]Emiliano Martinez[/a] is set to move in the other direction to join Chelsea and the Villa exodus.[/p][p]Villa have been forced to cash in on many of their stars due to financial sustainability rules. But Emery is determined to continue driving the club forward after qualifying for the Champions League twice in the past three seasons and also ending Villa's 30-year wait to win a trophy.[/p][p][b]"We don't want to be a club to sell players, but the responsibility is there,"[/b] added the Spaniard.[/p][p][b]"It's not changing our objective, our priority for the next year is to be competitive and to fight again to be in the top positions."[/b][/p][p]Emery is hopeful Jackson will be registered in time to face Premier League champions Arsenal, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/goretzka-leon/l2JpsMjB/"]Leon Goretzka[/a] could also make his debut after joining on a free transfer from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a].[/p][infobox id="02b45e73-9abc-454d-882a-650a1a621f7d" /]