Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has hailed midfielder Douglas Luiz months after Arsenal missed out on a deal for the Brazilian.
Luiz was on the scoresheet on Saturday afternoon as he found the net against Bournemouth.
The midfielder was on hand to score from close range as Leon Bailey crossed into the box.
Villa went on to beat the Cherries 3-0 as Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia found the net in the second half.
Villa sit 11th in the Premier League table, level on points with Chelsea and just four points behind sixth-placed Liverpool.
Unai Emery raves about Douglas Luiz
In the eyes of Villa boss Emery, Luiz was the star of the show and has been for months now.
Emery has told the Birmingham Mail that he was ‘very happy’ with Luis’s performance against Bournemouth.
Emery feels that Luiz provided real skill and know-how on the ball in VIlla’s midfield was absolutely vital.
The Spaniard believes that Luiz is ‘necessary’ in the Villa team and he is always focused on his position in midfield and keeping possession ticking over.
Emery added that this was the best performance he has seen from Luiz since he arrived at Villa Park earlier this season.
“Today I am very happy with Douglas Luiz. His skill, characteristic in the squad is very important,” said Emery. “Every match he is very focused on how we can manage 90 minutes keeping ball possession, keeping good positioning, taking our time with our central midfielder and his characteristic is necessary in this team. Today was the match, I think, overall with the performances, was the best with us since I arrived here,” he added.
Arsenal missed out in August
Arsenal were keen to add a new midfielder in January and ended up signing Jorginho from Chelsea.
Yet this only came after Arsenal had tried to snap up Luiz from Villa back in August.
Arsenal failed with offers worth £20million, £23million and £25million for Luiz before the summer transfer deadline.
Villa refused to sell and then managed to convince Luiz to sign a new contract with the club.
That means a move to Arsenal surely won’t be happening any time soon, even with the Gunners still looking at players like Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo.
Emery will be delighted with that, and no doubt wants to build around Luiz moving forward.
The post 'The best': Unai Emery raves about Aston Villa player months after Arsenal bids failed appeared first on HITC.
from HITC https://ift.tt/fkvrcjA
No comments: