Alan Shearer makes Maatsen point at Aston Villa ahead of Nottingham Forest clash
Ian Maatsen could force Unai Emery’s hand to start for Aston Villa against Nottingham Forest after his substitute cameo in the Champions League.
The Villans travel to the City Ground on Saturday (14 November) just four days after a 3-2 win away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Jhon Duran and Ross Barkley both came off the bench to score and change the game but it was the left-back who caught the eye of Shearer in his Metro column (14 December).
He said: “Emi Buendia and Ian Maatsen came on and showed that they have really good options. When you bring on your subs, you want them to make an impact and they worked perfectly for them.”
Unai Emery hand may be forced by Ian Maatsen at Aston Villa
The Netherlands international came on at the Red Bull Arena and played a role as the away side came away with another three points in Europe.
Despite featuring across just seven minutes, the 22-year-old was able to maintain a 100 per cent pass accuracy [FotMob], which will certainly impress his manager.
The ex-Chelsea man created one chance across his six touches and wasn’t dispossessed at any point as Villa went in search of a late winner.
Maatsen featured in a wing-back role so didn’t contribute with any defensive actions other than one recovery, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect badly on him.
This wasn’t much different to his left-back competition, Lucas Digne, who failed to win a tackle and contributed with just one interception.
The 31-year-old didn’t create a chance and was also dispossessed on three occasions, which could prompt a change from Emery ahead of the trip to face Forest.
In other Aston Villa news, Emi Buendia could be set to exit B6 after the latest transfer news emerged.
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