Lee Hendrie blown away as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ Douglas Luiz does ‘horrible side’ in Aston Villa draw at Bournemouth amid Arsenal links
Douglas Luiz’s all-action display as Aston Villa drew away at Bournemouth caught the eye as the midfielder was heavily involved throughout the afternoon.
On a day where Unai Emery’s side were strangely undercooked, and the Brazilian’s midfield teammates John McGinn and Youri Tielemans had average afternoons, the outcome at the Vitality Stadium could have been a lot worse on 3 December without him.
It arguably could have been better as well and even led to an unlikely win if not for one of the negative aspects of his 103-touch afternoon [SofaScore].
Heavily involved offensively in the first half Luiz had four shots but his one big chance, and his only one on target, was saved when he should have scored moments before the break from a cut-back by Leon Bailey.
It was defensively that he was at his best however as he made three tackles and won seven ground duels (of 13) according to SofaScore stats.
He did concede possession 15 times but his reactions to rectify mistakes and win the ball back stood out, and wowed ex-Villa man Lee Hendrie.
In the ninth minute on Sunday he was caught on the ball in midfield and Bournemouth broke towards the Aston Villa box, but Luiz reappeared to regain possession and pass it on.
Hendrie reacted live on the world feed match commentary (2.09pm): “Absolutely brilliant. He continues to have an absolutely unbelievable season doesn’t he, scoring goals? But that’s his bread and butter, getting back, doing the horrible side of the game and having quality amongst that is absolutely phenomenal.
“You remember Pep Guardiola when Aston Villa first signed him talking so highly of him, well I think that speaks volumes of how good a player Aston Villa and Unai Emery has.”
Coupled with his 91% pass-completion on 76 passes, which would have been perfect were it not for long balls and crosses which found an opponent, it showcased his best qualities in the centre of the line up, and negated some of his high giveaway number.
But with ESPN reporting on 27 November that Mikel Arteta’s table-topping Arsenal have made the Aston Villa man their “leading target” in January Luiz likely didn’t dissuade that interest either by doing the dirty work in midfield.
It was all the more necessary that he did so when the defence on the day was a mess and his teammates in the middle weren’t on top form.
Villa appeared to have headed off interest from the Emirates when the 25-year-old signed a new contract to 2026 in the wake of three rejected bids two summers ago, but it appears to be on the cards again.
Luiz should have scored against the Cherries, to add to his five Premier League strikes so far, but when he is eyed as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey at Arsenal it will be his passing and ball-winning that is of most concern, and they were his best aspects in the 2-2 draw at the weekend.
In other Aston Villa news, one Villan was twice branded “unbelievable” for what he did against Bournemouth.