Unai Emery is determined to keep Ollie Watkins in Aston Villa this month while the club prepares to sell to Jhon Duran.
Villa's 4-2 victory on Celtic sent them to the last 16 of the Champions League, but the day was cloudy by uncertainty about the future of the two club strikers.
Emery confirmed that Duran is likely to move to Al Nassr for around 63 million and will have a doctor in London on Thursday.
But Villa was blind for an Arsenal offer for Watkins hours before the start. Although Emery accepts that each player is priced, he does not want to sell Watkins.
“I don't want (sell),” Emery said. 'For any agreement, we will be very demanding. Ollie Watkins is our front.
'There is a lot of speculation around our players, but the most important thing is how they respond in the field. They show us that they are mature and responsible.
Unai Emery insisted that he wants to keep Ollie Watkins in Aston Villa amid the interest of Arsenal
Mikel Arteta team presented an offer for the striker only a few hours before the victory of the Champions League
Watkins is a childhood arsenal fan and has 10 goals for Villa in all competitions this campaign
'You know my opinion about Jhon Duran. He is a fantastic player with great potential. I wanted it here, but what do you want? We are all different people with different objectives and we have to respect that.
'If he leaves it is because he prefers to go differently in his career. It is good news for the club because someone is paying good money, after developing it in the last two years.
'It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sports goals through the players we have in the team.
“Stay at the level we are is the most difficult challenge and maybe we have to sell players to maintain this level, but we must always try to replace them with good players.”
There was an atmosphere of celebration in Villa Park when Atalanta's 2-2 draw in Barcelona confirmed the place of Villa in the last 16, without going through the play-offs.
They will resume the action in this competition in March and will face one of Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Sporting Lisboa or Club Brugge.
Emery added: 'He was a bit annoying with the players in part time, but in the second half the answer was fantastic.
'When we went up 2-0, we still had 90 minutes to play and I couldn't understand why we weren't being strong in our mentality.
Emery also confirmed that Jhon Duran will move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia for £ 63 million
The former Arsenal chief revealed that he was upset in the midst after his team dropped a two -go advantage
Brenda Rodgers quickly praised the new format of the Champions League as her team progresses
'If you lose respect for the opponent at some times, the result can change. But I am very proud of how we have played in the Champions League this year.
“We are not contenders to win the competition, but we want to enjoy it, compete well and show our ability.”
Chief Celta Brendan Rodgers added: 'Scottish football receives some stick in England, but you can clearly see that we have teams with the courage to play and we can still be competitive without the same resources.
'The new format has been really good. We prepare for the next challenge.