Aston Villa travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Wednesday evening and Cameron Archer is a doubt for the clash after picking up a hip injury.
The 20-year-old has barely played any first-team football this season despite Villa struggling in the Premier League, so he must be frustrated at how the campaign is going.
Archer scored 17 goals with seven assists from 36 games for Villa’s U21s (2018-2022) and would go on to score seven goals with one assist from 20 games while on loan at Preston North End (2021/22), so he was ready to make the step up.
The England U20 international hasn’t been afforded a lot of opportunities, however, amassing 10 minutes of playing time from a possible 360 in the Premier League, so might he be wondering if staying in the first-team was the best move for his career?
Steven Gerrard has preferred Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins which was to be expected, but Archer has been an afterthought in games even though goals have been lacking this season – Villa have scored one or less times in three of their first four league outings.
Archer didn’t even start in the EFL Cup win over Bolton Wanderers, so he risks stagnating if he spends the campaign on the bench.
In other news, Philippe Coutinho’s Aston Villa form is mirroring Barcelona stint
