Aston Villa defender Kosta Nedeljkovic faced a daunting task against Arsenal on Saturday, but after a nervous start, he began to settle and showed further promise.
Villa were forced into a change after just 16 minutes in our 2-0 defeat to the Gunners, as Matty Cash limped off with a hamstring injury after fears that he had perhaps tweaked something last weekend at West Ham Utd.
READ MORE: Villa ace continues to shine in key role as he grows in confidence and influence
That in turn threw Nedeljkovic into the lion’s den, and for the 18-year-old coming on for his first appearance at Villa Park against one of the best teams in Europe was a big test for him.
Naturally, there were signs of nerves in the first few minutes. A misplaced pass sent Arsenal off in attack while he needed time to adjust to the tempo of the game as he looked like he was chasing players and losing his positioning.
Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly perfect thereafter, but there was enough promise and potential from the talented youngster to suggest that he can be an important option for Unai Emery if Cash is now sidelined for a significant period.
Nedeljkovic settled and asserted himself more consistently as the game went on, as he showed the composure that marked his defending in pre-season to stifle Gabriel Martinelli more effectively, but at times he was still dragged out of position by top-class attacking players that he came up against.
There was the occasional overlapping run to provide Leon Bailey with support down the right flank, but for the most part, it was a defensive brief from Emery as the Serbian defender slotted into the backline and looked to maintain our structure and shape to try and limit Arsenal’s threat.
Time will tell if Cash now faces a lengthy spell out, and in turn if that will see Villa speed up their plans in the transfer market to bring in another reinforcement in that department.
Either way, based on Emery’s comments below, it doesn’t sound as though the Villa boss is particularly keen to shift Ezri Konsa to right-back, as he did on a number of occasions last season, with Diego Carlos coming in at centre-half, as it was notable that we’ve tweaked how we set up when he build our play.
There hasn’t been as much of a back-three in possession but instead more focus on getting our midfield pivot more involved to break the lines and set us off in transition, and so that puts less responsibility and emphasis on our full-backs being on the ball in our own defensive third.
“It’s tactically a work we are doing,” Emery told the media in his post-match press conference. “Konsa is feeling comfortable playing at centre-back and at the moment we are with two full-backs – Cash and Kosta – and I prefer to keep each one in his position.
“Of course, last year we played sometimes very strong and successful with Diego Carlos and Konsa, but this year we are not starting in the same structure tactically. I can’t refuse in the next few weeks and months playing with both as we did last year, but at the moment I prefer to keep Konsa at centre-back.”
Just as he’s done with so many other players in the current squad, Emery will have a positive influence on Nedeljkovic and help develop his game. There’s arguably enough potential there and the right personality and mentality to adapt to those demands, learn and improve, and ultimately follow the path that so many others have taken over the past year and 10 months.
At just 18 years of age and with only 82 minutes of Premier League football to his name thus far, it’s a big decision to potentially rely on Nedeljkovic at right-back in the coming weeks, as he will be learning on the job and will make mistakes. However, it’s hoped that he’s up to the task if called upon to do his job, and he’ll undoubtedly make progress at a quicker rate if he’s playing consistently, continuing to adapt and gaining invaluable experience alongside his teammates in competitive situations.
