Credit: Imago

Jacob Raw

Fri 1 May 2026 18:10, UK

Emi Buendia looked to be getting back to the version of himself that Aston Villa were once promised, but his display against Nottingham Forest showed he’s replaceable.

The Argentine has struggled with plenty of fitness issues since arriving at Villa Park in 2021, but this season has been arguably his best.

Coming back from an unconvincing loan spell at Bayern Leverkusen last summer, there were few hopes left that the 29-year-old could rediscover his old form.

However, Unai Emery has been able to get the best out of the forward this term, but only in spells, which is the biggest flaw in his game right now.

Buendia was poor in the loss to Nottingham Forest on Thursday, and what the Villans are seeing from him right now may be his limit, which sadly isn’t enough.

These stats show Emi Buendia was horrible vs Nottingham Forest

There was growing belief in B6 that Buendia was getting back to his best, especially from parts of September through to the winter period.

Emery is fairly limited with his options out wide, as seen in the decision to integrate Leon Bailey back into the side, but Buendia hasn’t been a consistent performer either.

As seen in the table above, the versatile winger offered little in his 79-minute appearance, losing seven out of his 10 ground duels and recording a telling 0 per cent dribble accuracy.

Buendia picked up a 6.1 FotMob rating against Vitor Pereira’s side, only second-worst to Lucas Digne’s shocking performance, who picked up a score of 6.0.

Not only that, but the former Norwich City star failed to create a single chance and didn’t even have an attempt on goal, which raises the question: why did he stay on the pitch for that long?

Buendia does have 15 goal involvements this season, but for some reason, that just doesn’t seem to be too impressive considering his performances.

The sad reality Unai Emery faces

A problem that Emery has had throughout the season is that when players have struggled for form, he’s not even able to drop them.

That’s because for most positions in the squad, there are no players to take their place, or the ones who are available simply aren’t good enough.

Really, Buendia is done at Villa Park, especially if the Villans get a deal over the line for Harry Wilson, who is out of contract with Fulham at the end of the season, and is exploring a new challenge.

Buendia has played 48 games for the Villas this campaign, the most in his time with the club, and could be suffering from some form of burnout.

Unfortunately for Emery, there isn’t really anyone to replace the forward right now, as the Villa boss just needs to stick with him and hope he delivers the goods until the end of the season.