Unai Emery has said one of his Aston Villa players took another important step during the 3-3 draw against Brentford on Saturday.
Ollie Watkins’ 17th and 18th goals for the season saw the Villans rescue a point after the Bees’ quickfire second-half turnaround.
Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest means Villa now sit outside the top four. Ange Postecoglou’s side also hold an all-important game in hand.
Talking after the game, the Villa boss cut a frustrated figure.
What did Unai Emery say after Aston Villa’s draw against Brentford?
The Villa boss said to Sky Sports: “We weren’t strong and firm to defend those crosses. I must analyse and spend time with the players to understand why. Try to move on. The balance now is, we have 60 points. We can be happy. We are having a fantastic Premier League season.”
Now the dust has settled, the Spaniard has singled out one of his star players and suggested he’s close to achieving something “important”.
Unai Emery wowed by ‘fantastic’ Aston Villa star
Emery lauded Watkins’ recent form perthe Express and Star on Tuesday, 9 April.
“Ollie has been fantastic. His performances, fantastic,” he said. “He is very involved in the new demands we have as a club. His processes are getting better, his attitude every day, his wishes to get something collectively and individually is very important for his career.”
The Spaniard also suggested that the 28-year-old is now “one step” closer to being firmly in contention ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
“To be in the national team, to be one of the best scorers in the Premier League. This is his motivation every day. And to get it, to achieve it, is through hard work. Saturday was one step ahead more in his increasing the level.”
With 18 goals to his name thus far, Southgate leaving Watkins out of his plans would be a massive call. The discourse has genuinely centred around Ivan Toney being Watkins’ main competition, however, the Villa star should be considered ahead of Marcus Rashford on the left flank based on his current form.
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