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‘HE’LL BOUNCE BACK’ — UNAI EMERY BACKS OLLIE WATKINS AFTER ENGLAND AXING

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins is playing through "discomfort," leading to his England squad omission. Manager Unai Emery backs his striker to recover form, praising his fighting spirit and resilience.

‘He’ll Bounce Back’ —  Unai Emery Backs Ollie Watkins After England Axing
Unai Emery and Ollie Watkins - Photo Credit: (SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that the 29-year-old is playing through "discomfort" and would benefit from a break, which is why he was left out of this month's World Cup qualifiers.

Shortly after scoring for England against Wales last month, Watkins, who has only scored once in 15 games for Villa this season, sustained a knee injury. 

He came off the bench in Thursday's 2-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv and has subsequently played in all five of Villa's games since the last international break.

During a press conference on Friday, Emery expressed his belief that Watkins would return to his prime shortly.

He is a combative individual. "He showed it to us throughout his career," Emery said. As a fighter, he has overcome many challenges during his career.

"Now, continue onward. He has to refocus with us in order to regain his confidence and his form.

"I am so, so thrilled with you," was my message to him during our meeting yesterday before the game.

"You are our striker, and you have been reliable throughout your career. You have demonstrated your ability to be resilient in all of our times of need since I first arrived here.

"Now, I know that by being consistent like you are, fighting like you did, and concentrating with us, you will heal and get your performance back."

Watkins has been playing through the discomfort barrier, according to Tuchel's statement earlier on Friday.

"When we observed Ollie closely, we could see that he was playing through his discomfort," he stated.

Bringing him into camp in this state really did not make much sense. We decided to give him this time off so he could receive treatment and return to his peak physical condition, so he could compete for a spot in March.

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

top-news
Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

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