Having opted to make changes in our defeat at Man City, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery tested the ability of some of his squad players to come in and make an impact.
As he emphasised in his post-match interviews, it was a crucial experiment for the Villa boss, as he insisted that others must get minutes to adapt and settle in our structure and style of play.
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Ultimately, and as he often is, he’s right. The strength of a squad isn’t just having talented players on the bench, it’s about having individuals capable of slotting in when needed and doing the job asked of them by Emery in specific roles as part of the collective.
On Wednesday night, we saw both Tim Iroegbunam and Jhon Duran given a chance to impress, and the Villa duo both did well considering the circumstances, opposition and the way the game played out.
“We have to give players minutes. Like Tim – every minute he plays is important,” Emery said after the game, as per the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell.
“It was a very good goal,” he added on Duran to VillaTV. “In the second half we were demanding more and more of him because maybe he was tired. He can exploit his power like he did in the first half and continue getting fit for the next matches.”
Emery was forced into two changes in midweek, with neither Ollie Watkins nor Emiliano Martinez available for selection. However, he opted to make four further changes, with Alex Moreno, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey rested.
Some will be critical of his decision as it made our assignment all the more difficult, but the Villa boss justified his choices with his explanation, and for an hour, we were certainly in the game and capable of coming away with a result.
Naturally, it’s disappointing to suffer a defeat and it puts extra pressure on Emery and the players to bounce back against Brentford this weekend, but with our key players rested and fully focused on the next outing, there’s hope that we’ll secure all three points on Saturday and take another important step towards Champions League qualification.
As for Iroegbunam and Duran, both showed promising signs. The former had a shaky start as it was a big occasion for him making his first Premier League start, but he settled well as the game went on and he began to impose himself.
The 20-year-old started to make key interventions as he shielded the backline well at times, and his passing became crisper and quicker having perhaps struggled with the tempo and pressing early on. And that is what Emery was looking for.
The only way we’re going to test our youngsters and squad players is to put them in difficult situations and see how they fare, and it’s only with regular playing time will Emery be able to assess and judge whether or not they have a role with us moving forward.
Iroegbunam possesses impressive physical attributes and technical ability, and it’s hoped that he took a lot away from the experience in midweek which will help him grow, mature and develop, and he’ll be better prepared now the next time he’s called upon.
With Duran, this was certainly a step in the right direction for him, and again, particularly when considering the level of the opposition he was up against.
Aside from his goal which he produced a top finish for, his work ethic, movement, desire and ability to look part of the game-plan and system all stood out, and depending on when Watkins is able to return from his injury, the Colombian international may still have a big role to play.
There’s been a lot of noise around him this season in terms of his future at Villa, but there is quite clearly a talented player there, and hopefully he can shine between now and the end of the year.
With our Europa Conference League campaign to consider too, Emery will make changes again in the coming weeks and give these two and the likes of Nicolo Zaniolo, Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Omari Kellyman minutes. It’s up to them to show the Villa boss that they can be trusted and relied upon to do the job he needs from them in order for us to have a successful campaign.