Gregg Evans of The Athletic has been discussing Aston Villa’s impressive victory last Sunday over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium during a recent episode of the 1874 podcast.
The journalist, alongside Dan Bardell, dissected the match in which Dean Smith’s side were fired to victory by a brace from Ollie Watkins after Bukayo Saka’s own goal put the visitors in front in the first half (as per BBC Sport).
Aside from the usual discussion points such as the brilliance of Jack Grealish who earned himself a performance rating of 7.93/10 (as per WhoScored) or the 8.17/10 display from Ross Barkley, the pair spoke of Trezeguet’s contribution and the influence 33-year-old teammate Ahmed Elmohamady has had on him of late. Here is what Evans had to say:
“I’ve noticed Ahmed Elmohamady, his international teammate, often guiding him through games, he’ll give him pointers throughout the games of [when] to track back, when to sit in, when to get forward, when to break the lines etc. I just think he’s a real shining light because sometimes it just shows that hard work sometimes beats talent. Maybe that’s a little bit unfair because obviously, he’s a very talented player as well, but it just feels like his energy levels and his enthusiasm is what gets him through the games now.”
Do you think Trezeguet's improvement is partly down to Elmohamady's influence?
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TIF Thoughts on Gregg Evans’ comments regarding Elmohamady and Trezeguet’s relationship…
Trezeguet, who joined Villa from the Turkish side Kasimpasa back in July 2019 for £9m has appeared seven times for Dean Smith’s in the Premier League so far this season (as per WhoScored). His displays so far this season have earned him a solid average performance rating of 7.33/10, which is much improved on his average rating of 6.59/10 during the 2019/20 campaign.
Evans appears to think that the guidance of his fellow countryman, who has been in English football since 2011, has contributed to the clear improvement in his game and although we can’t say that is definitely the case, in our view, there could well be some truth in what the journalist has had to say.