Duran returned to the Villa squad against Everton on Wednesday (15 January) following his three-match suspension after he was sent off during the 3-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United at St James’ Park (26 December) – an incident for which the striker could yet face further punishment.
However, Unai Emery decided to bench the Colombian and stick by Ollie Watkins, who got himself on the scoresheet in the 1-0 Premier League win at Goodison Park.
And ex-Villa scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Villa News – thinks this was Emery’s way of sending a message to Duran.
“Villa won and Watkins scored the goal,” King said.
“Therefore, I think the writing is on the wall, Watkins will start against Arsenal. However, I think the reason Emery left Duran out against Everton was so that he could send a message to the striker.
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“It was his way of telling the player to stop that kind of behaviour after his reaction to being sent off against Newcastle. I think Emery has definitely had a few words with Duran about the incident. However, I do still think he will use him off the bench against Arsenal.”
Jhon Duran to be benched for Aston Villa v Arsenal?
Villa will take on Arsenal at the Emirates on 18 January and it appears as though the focus will likely once again be on who Emery decides to start between Watkins and Duran.
Ordinarly, having two top-quality strikers would be a luxury for any manager. However, with friction mooted behind the scenes between the two players, Emery might be struggling to manage the situation.
Unai Emery
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
Both players are good enough to be starting week in and week out. However, Emery seems to only want to start one of the two.
Therefore, unless the manager finds a way to play them both together, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see at least one of the two push for an exit.
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