Which Aston Villa man is starting to reach his expected heights after another impressive display against West Ham.
In another key game for Champions League qualification, Villa travelled to West Ham searching for a return to winning ways in the Premier League.
Villa Park witnessed a decimation last weekend as Spurs cruised to a 4-0 win. This arguably gave Tottenham the advantage in the race for fourth spot.
However, a slip-up on Saturday gave Villa the advantage again which they almost messed up.
After going 1-0 down away to West Ham, Unai Emery was forced into multiple changes.
One was Moussa Diaby who helped to change the game in Villa’s favour as the game went on. The record-signing set up Nicoli Zaniolo to earn Villa a vital 1-1 draw.
Now, after the game, the attacker received plenty of praise as he helped collect another point in the Birmingham side’s impressive campaign.
‘Things are starting to happen’ for Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby
The Frenchman joined the club for a record fee in the summer when he left German side Bayer Leverkusen for £51.9 million.
However, despite coming into the club with heavy expectations and a big reputation, he has struggled to set the Premier League alight.
This has seen Diaby used sporadically in recent weeks, mainly as an option off the bench. Yet, against West Ham, he once again proved himself as he shone in the capital.
In his 45-minute cameo, the winger had a 90% passing completion and created one big chance on top of collecting his assist.
This has taken his goal and assist tally to 13 in the campaign, making it an impressive first season in England so far.
Luke Robinson, presenter of UTV Podcast insisted that “Things are starting to happen here” in regards to Diaby’s uplift in form.
After the game, Emery commented: “We didn’t take control like we wanted. Maybe with other players it would have been the same. The first half we were not connecting very well down the right side and we had to change. But Diaby felt comfortable playing as the No 10.”
Moussa Diaby becoming a real asset at Aston Villa
Diaby’s cameos in recent weeks have really shown how good he can be. Despite being benched, the Frenchman has continuously come on to add a more attacking threat to Villa.
While this was most evident against West Ham, he was also effective against Spurs until John McGinn’s red.
Diaby also picked up a good assist against Luton and netted past Ajax in the 4-0 win on Thursday.
If this form continues, Emery must be tempted to bring Diaby back into the starting line-up. The Frenchman is finally starting to show his worth and just at the right time for Villa.
