Unai Emery once wanted one Aston Villa star at Arsenal in £40m deal

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If any player summed up Aston Villa’s malaise under Steven Gerrard, it was Leon Bailey.

Expensively-acquired and brimming with potential yet performing dramatically below expectations; the struggles of Villa’s £25 million winger reflected those of his club as a whole. 

His rasping performance during the 4-0 thumping of Brentford, then, acted as a timely reminder as to what Bailey – and Aston Villa – can really do when let off the leash. Here was the Jamaica international, running rings around the visiting defence. Scoring and creating with a smile as wide as the Birmingham canal etched upon his face. 

And, with Arsenal having targeted Bailey during Unai Emery’s time in office, the Spaniard’s sudden arrival as Gerrard’s Villa Park successor should raise hopes that Sunday’s four-goal obliteration of Brentford can be the start of something special, rather than merely a flash in the proverbial pan. 

Can Unai Emery save Leon Bailey’s Aston Villa career?

According to The Sun, the then-£40 million-rated Bailey was on Arsenal’s radar back in 2018. He would, of course, stay at Bayer Leverkusen for another couple of seasons; eventually crossing the Channel after producing a superb tally of 15 goals and 11 assists during the 2019/20 season. 

“He’s so fast. It’s not normal,” former Dutch international Ronald de Boer once said of a man labelled ‘Arjen Robben’s heir’ during his time at Leverkusen due to Bailey’s tendency to cut inside and shoot with his left foot. 

“His speed, combined with his technique, is very rare. Exceptional. He has no weak points.”

Aston Villa fans may have something to say about De Boer’s final claim. ‘No weak points’? Bailey, during his time in claret-and-blue, has frequently struggled to stay fit. And even when he has been free of injuries, the winger’s end-product and decision making have left to be desired. 

The hope will be, however, that a change of manager can result in a change of circumstance. Whether Unai Emery is the man to provide just that – he often came in for criticism at Villarreal due to a pragmatic approach that left the club’s talented forwards under-utilised – remains to be seen.