Jhon Duran has almost cost Aston Villa once, Unai Emery can’t count on him v Arsenal
Aston Villa can not rely on Jhon Duran for their clash against Arsenal on Saturday 24 August despite his late winner against West Ham.
The Villans secured three points on the opening day against the Hammers in a first-ever win away at the London Stadium.
Amadou Onana scored just four minutes into his debut for the opener before Duran netted a winner late on against a side he was heavily linked to earlier in the transfer window.
Despite having a matchwinning impact against the Irons, the 20-year-old can not yet be trusted to lead the line against an elite side like Arsenal.
Jhon Duran can not start for Aston Villa v Arsenal
The Colombia international has kicked up a fuss all summer but finally seems to have got his head down and his focusing on his football.
His performance at the London Stadium was largely positive, having 25 touches, scoring once and even keeping up a 100 per cent tackle success rate [FotMob].
His ability to press from the front was useful to pressure the Hammers’ defence has he won seven duels.
Despite getting on the scoresheet, what will concern Unai Emery is the missed opportunity where the striker was selfish which would have cost the Villans three points.
There was the opportunity to square the ball for either Jacob Ramsey or even Leon Bailey at the back post but Duran opted to shoot.
Although this didn’t matter in the end, against Arsenal this quality of chance will be few and far between and needs to be taken.
These are the sort of chances that Ollie Watkins thrived on last season and he deserves to start ahead of the Colombian at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, talks open with Raheem Sterling as Chelsea future revealed.
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