Aston Villa: Unai Emery must take decisive Nicolo Zaniolo action at halftime v Arsenal
Aston Villa and Unai Emery will be largely happy with how they started the first half of their crucial Premier League showdown with Arsenal.
The Villans headed into the break level at 0-0 at The Emirates on Sunday (14 April) as they dug in defensively to keep a number of Mikel Arteta’s exciting attacking talents away from Emi Martinez’s goal.
However, Emery’s side have struggled to make their limited possessions count in North London and if they want to pull off an upset and claim all three points, the Villa boss has to hook Nicolo Zaniolo at halftime.
The 24-year-old completed 80 per cent of his 10 attempted passes in the first half against the Gunners but was even more wasteful when passing over a long distance as he misplaced 64 per cent of his attempted long passes, according to Fotmob.
Few players in the Premier League are as poor at passing the ball as Zaniolo. When compared to other midfielders in the division, the Villa midfielder places in the first percentile for passes attempted per 90 minutes, with an average of 24.01, according to Fbref.
When the Galatasaray loanee does pass the ball, he very rarely finds a teammate in claret and blue. He places in the bottom one per cent of midfielders for pass completion percentage with an average of 65.3 per cent.
On top of that, the Italian international only completed 33 per cent of his three attempted dribbles as he repeatedly ran down an alley before losing possession having tried to do too much on the ball.
Out of possession, the 24-year-old was just as ineffective, winning only 50 per cent of his attempted tackles whilst also committing a clumsy foul to increase the pressure on Emery’s side.
When it came to duels, Zaniolo won 50 per cent of his six ground duels as he was too often bullied off of the ball by Ben White. After he picked up a knock following a collision late in the half, it could be best to get him off to avoid further injury
The Villa loanee has won fewer tackles per 90 minutes this term than 67 per cent of midfielders and has registered fewer interceptions a game than 90 per cent of his peers. He doesn’t do enough out of possession to make a difference.
Can Aston Villa and Unai Emery beat Arsenal and qualify for the Champions League this season?
While this game won’t ultimately decide whether or not Villa qualify for the Champions League this term, a win over Arsenal would be a massive step in the right direction for both Emery and his side this season.
A combination of both injuries and suspensions have put the Villans on the backfoot, but they have shown that they are capable of beating anyone this season. Emery just has to make the right changes to find that final touch.
In other Aston Villa news, Ezri Konsa will consider a move to Manchester United this summer amid a £40million transfer update
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