In a crucial stretch of the season, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery needed his big players to step up and deliver, and Moussa Diaby is doing just that.
Villa’s ongoing pursuit of Champions League qualification has set up a fascinating end to the Premier League season, as with just eight games remaining, we currently sit in fourth place in the table.
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While fifth spot could also be enough this time round to secure a place at Europe’s top table for next year, we hold a three-point lead over Tottenham and an 11-point advantage over Man Utd, albeit both have a game in hand.
For Emery though, the focus will be on doing our job and taking it one game at a time, and in a crunch period of the campaign where quality will make the difference, our marquee summer signing from last year is stepping up in a big moment.
Eight goals and seven assists in 42 appearances so far this season is somewhat of an underwhelming return from the Frenchman when considering the expectation and excitement around his arrival, as well as the transfer fee it took to bring him to Villa.
However, as we’ve seen with other players, it does take time to adapt and showcase your best form under Emery when trying to satisfy his technical, tactical and physical demands, and so it has been a slightly slow burn with Diaby over the course of the campaign.
That said, with one goal and three assists in his last four league outings, as well as a goal in our Europa Conference League tie with Ajax, he’s had a superb month or so as he’s stepped up and delivered when we needed him.
Not only that, but whether it was his delivery for the winner at Luton Town, his pull-back cross for the equaliser at West Ham Utd or his opener against Wolves this weekend, they have all been decisive and game-changing contributions from the Frenchman, leading to seven points being gained in those encounters.
That’s the mark of an elite player, and while there will no doubt be more gears for him to go through and improvements to be made still, that is hopefully building his confidence and allowing him to find more consistency to be a leading figure in this Villa side moving forward.
The job of course isn’t done. With a trip to Man City looming in midweek and the visit of Brentford next weekend, Villa must continue to win to keep our Champions League dream going, while we’ll face Lille in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League too.
While others will have to play their part too, Diaby is hopefully primed to be a decisive presence in the Villa XI between now and the end of the season on both fronts.
You don't save those. 🚀
🔥 @MoussaDiaby_19 pic.twitter.com/olTlWmBg0W
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 30, 2024
A good article but I can’t believe that we are preparing to loose Zaniolo he makes all the difference when he comes on and is getting better and better I say keep him
What goes for Diaby goes for Zaniolo, it takes time to adapt to the Prem, it also takes time to settle into a new team of players that are new to you, I have a feeling that Zaniolo is going to come good, UTV