Amid all the positives from Aston Villa’s win this past weekend, the crucial impact of Ross Barkley off the bench earned praise from Unai Emery.
Villa’s summer signing was introduced against Leicester City in the 62nd minute, and he entered at a critical period in the encounter as Villa had become increasingly sloppy and opened the door for Leicester to create openings and threaten an equaliser.
READ MORE: Emery shows trust in top Villa prospect who could have important role to play
Within a minute of coming on though, we doubled our lead and ultimately went on to secure all three points, and Barkley’s influence in midfield was undoubtedly a factor in helping us do that.
The 30-year-old had 22 touches, 100 percent passing accuracy, one key pass and was a key presence in midfield as we regained control of tempo and possession, which in turn allowed us to strengthen our hold on the game, despite the hosts going on to score and push us hard through to the end.
Barkley has been restricted to a limited role thus far given the impressive partnership that Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana are building in our midfield pivot, but there is absolutely no doubt that he will have a key role to play in the coming weeks and months.
Emery was said to be adamant about signing the experienced England international this past summer given his fit for what he’s building and implementing, and the Villa boss was pleased with what he saw in his half hour on the pitch at the King Power Stadium.
“Ross Barkley had a good impact,” he told reporters after the game. “Today I am also very happy with Barkley. He was fantastic in the minutes he played.”
With both Tielemans and Onana hampered by bookings, Villa lacked the desired control in midfield as the game went on, and with the latter also picking up a knock, we needed a boost at that point to put us back in the ascendancy.
While he didn’t make a decisive impact as such, Barkley gave us that energy and composure in the midfield area again after coming on, as his intricate and accurate passing was also evident in the build-up to Jhon Duran’s goal.
It will be fascinating to see how and when Emery uses the versatile midfielder, as it could be argued that in games where Villa are dominating possession and are looking for that additional creative dynamic in midfield to prise defensive teams open, Barkley and Tielemans together could be an effective pairing.
Further, when the time comes that the Belgian ace needs a rest, Barkley could equally slot in alongside Onana and help us maintain that balance with his technical ability and passing to get us moving up the pitch at speed, and so he’ll get opportunities, and no doubt deliver when called upon.
Emery has consistently reiterated the importance of having a squad that regardless of personnel, is capable of ensuring we continue to play our way with the same structure and style consistently across an entire season.
Barkley’s quality, versatility, composure and maturity will all make him an invaluable player for us this season, and it was a positive outing for him this past weekend on which he will hopefully build moving forward.
