Unai Emery may have to restore Nicolo Zaniolo to Aston Villa starting XI after what he did for Italy
It was a slight surprise to see Aston Villa playmaker Nicolo Zaniolo included in Italy’s squad for the November international break, after a difficult period both off and on the field.
The Italian attacker was signed on loan this summer as Unai Emery looked to add some creativity to his side having lost Emi Buendia and Jacob Ramsey to injury before a ball had even been kicked this season.
But after a difficult few weeks in an Aston Villa shirt which saw dismal displays against both Nottingham Forest and AZ Alkmaar, Zaniolo looks to have finally rediscovered some sort of creative form as he started Italy’s crucial Euro 2024 qualifying clash with Ukraine.
During Monday’s (20 November) clash in Germany, Zaniolo played 71 minutes from the right wing and was one of Italy’s most creative forces, laying on three chances for his teammates, including one “big chance” that the away side were unable to convert [Fotmob].
The 24-year-old’s creative work was demonstrated by his expected assist rate of 0.16, as he completed 86 per cent of his 28 attempted passes, with all three of his efforts into the final third producing a goal-scoring opportunity for his teammates.
In possession, it was a much brighter display from the Aston Villa star, although he only completed one of his three attempted dribbles in the match, he won three free-kicks as he drew three fouls from the Ukrainian defence. On top of that, Zaniolo was accurate with 100 per cent of his long passes and wasn’t dispossessed at all on the ball.
When he was without the ball, the 24-year-old worked incredibly hard out of possession, winning his only tackle in the match and registering an impressive three ball recoveries from the right wing. In addition, Zaniolo won five of his nine ground duels as he battled away to help Italy reach next summer’s tournament.
The only disappointment in the Aston Villa man’s display was a lack of end product in terms of his own goals and assists in the final third, with the Italian not having a single effort on goal himself in 99 minutes of action across the entirety of the November international break.
This lack of end product has been a huge issue over the last year of the 24-year-old’s career, with Zaniolo sitting in the bottom one per cent of Europe’s attacking midfielders for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, despite placing in the 99th percentile for shots taken per game [Fbref].
Similar is true in terms of assists, where the Villa man places in the bottom two per cent of attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for assists per match and only the 11th percentile for expected assisted goals per 90 minutes.
Zaniolo’s performance against Ukraine on Monday may well have convinced Emery to restore the Italian to the starting XI when Villa return to action against Tottenham on Sunday 26 November as it was a demonstration that the midfielder may have finally started to become less wasteful in the final third.
Nobody is doubting the 24-year-old’s immense talent, but he needs to finally start contributing more in terms of goals and assists. Hopefully, the November international break has been a step in the right direction.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery may be set to lose John McGinn after the 100 per cent star picked up an injury during the international break