Ollie Watkins has disclosed that Unai Emery’s latest Marcus Rashford decision left him “fuming.” Following Aston Villa’s 4-1 Premier League victory over high-flying Newcastle United, the English forward offered a candid evaluation of his recent play.
After rejoining the starting lineup after the Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the middle of the week, the 29-year-old scored inside the opening minute of play. As they aim to return to the top table in Europe next season, Ian Maatsen, an own goal from Dan Burn, and Amadou Onana completed a convincing win for Emery’s team.
Watkins stated in his post-match interview that he hasn’t been entirely happy in recent weeks, despite the fact that he was spotted grinning broadly after scoring the goal. Emery, the man in command, has been the primary cause of his annoyance.
“I was ‘Fuming’ at the Key Emery Decision vs. PSG,” Watkins says. I informed him (Emery).
Although Watkins was crucial to the Villa Park victory over the Magpies, the England international didn’t contribute as much as he had wanted against PSG in the top division of Europe. His team was eliminated since he didn’t start either leg and played fewer than 30 minutes overall versus Parisiens.
In both games against the Ligue 1 team, loanee Rashford was selected instead. Watkins expressed his displeasure with the decision to leave him out of the game for the momentous event in an interview with Sky Sports, saying:
“I won’t lie; I was furious that I wasn’t playing in both of the games against PSG, even though I played 20 minutes.
“I informed Emery of that. The end of the day, he is the manager. I honour his choice. However, I’m not among the athletes that enjoy being benched.
“It’s something I haven’t experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League,” he continued, acknowledging that he wasn’t the only one who was disappointed after the two matches. Although I mentioned that it is the manager’s decision, my group and I are sad that we did not start the game.
Watkins’ annoyance stems from the fact that, with ten league goals in the most recent campaign, he was a key player in the Villans’ run to the Champions League. “We did end up beating them, but obviously not across both legs,” he clarified. Although the team performed admirably, I wished I could have spent more time on the pitch. Since I’ve contributed significantly to our current situation, I wanted to start in the crucial games.”
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