Unai Emery has spoken about Ollie Watkins’ potential return to the national team following Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over West Ham.
Emery’s Perspective on Watkins and England
Emery said Watkins was a fighter who played a fantastic game and deserved to score. He noted Watkins fought with the centre back and was close to scoring, pushing and helping Villa be in the attacking third.
Emery added that Watkins was holding up passes offensively and getting into the opponents’ box to score. According to Emery, Watkins must now focus on recovering his confidence and numbers with Aston Villa.
Emery believes that if Watkins gets his numbers up again, he will be close to being back with the national team.
Aston Villa’s Confidence and Performance
Emery told Sky Sports he was delighted with how the players responded against West Ham. He stated that winning matches in the Premier League is very difficult.
Emery said Villa set the players a challenge, not only to win but to feel confidence in their structure. He felt the first half was maybe the best half they have played this year at home.
Villa stopped West Ham and did everything as planned. Emery said they needed to recover their confidence and energy at home, to be consistent over 90 minutes and to win.
He stated they are very motivated for the rest of the season, for the Europa League and to be in the top positions in the league.
Set Pieces and Clean Sheet
Emery mentioned that they are working a lot on set pieces, and the players’ response was fantastic.
- Aston Villa secured their 200th Premier League clean sheet at Villa Park.
- They are the eighth club to reach this milestone in the competition.
Emery’s objective after the break is to keep doing what they are doing now.