Gabby Agbonlahor will be forced to wear a Manchester United shirt with Antony’s name on the back if the Brazilian scores against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The former Aston Villa striker has made his negative opinion of the £86million winger clear over the past 18 months, frequently criticising his performances and behaviour. Agbonlahor’s stance is based on solid evidence: Antony has returned just nine goals and four assists in 69 appearances in all competitions for United.
He is yet to contribute a goal or an assist in 19 appearances in the Premier League this season and has been labelled an “embarrassing bluffer” by Agbonlahor, who also put him in his ‘flop of the season team’ for the 2022-23 campaign. United head to Villa Park on Sunday on the back of three straight wins in which they’ve scored 11 goals – but Agbonlahor remains convinced Antony won’t break his duck against his side.
Asked by a fan on talkSPORT whether he would wear an Antony shirt if he scored against Villa, Agbonlahor replied: “I’ll do that. He won’t play! What do I get in return? What are you going to do in return mate? Get yourself to New Street!”
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Antony grabbed his first goal contributions of the season by scoring and assisting in United’s 4-2 win over Newport County in the FA Cup on January 28. But Alejandro Garnacho has been preferred on the right wing by Erik ten Hag and scored twice in the 3-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.
Villa thrashed Sheffield United 5-0 in their last Premier League match, but were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea in the FA Cup at Villa Park on Wednesday night. And that performance worried Agbonlahor, who thinks that United might repeat the trick on the weekend.
“I think Manchester United will beat Villa [on] the recent form,” he said. “Yes, they were outstanding against Sheffield United, a game they should win, but we’re too easy to get through. Chelsea last night, we made [Noni] Madueke look like prime Arjen Robben.
![Antony and Erik ten Hag](https://www.footymercato.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gabby-agbonlahor-makes-promise-to-man-utds-antony-before-aston-villa-clash-1.webp)
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“Some of the defending… we don’t get tight to people, it’s passive defending, the high line, we’re the easiest team to get through and get chances on goal. It’s so frustrating to watch, they’ve been outstanding under Unai Emery, but defensively, [Ezri] Konsa is out injured, Pau Torres might be back. But if we had that defence we had last night, I think [Marcus] Rashford, Garnacho, [Rasmus] Hojlund, they’ll run us ragged.”
Antony has come off the substitutes’ bench in the past two games, against West Ham and Wolves, but Ten Hag is likely to stick with the front three of Hojlund, Garnacho and Rashford at Villa Park. Despite their form, United remain in sixth place in the Premier League, eight points behind Villa, who are in fourth.
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