If you were to rank the top teams of European football, where would Premier League duo Arsenal and Aston Villa fit in?
Arsenal, after running Manchester City close in each of the last two seasons and making pretty light work of a revamped Champions League format, certainly belong in the top ten.
Exactly where is anybody’s guess, though. On current form, certainly ahead of Man City but behind Liverpool. Maybe somewhere around Barcelona, Bayern Munich. In front of Paris Saint-Germain too, Mikel Arteta’s side swept PSG aside with ease at the Emirates at the start of October, after all.
Aston Villa, however, are a little more tricky to place.
Yes, Unai Emery’s team beat Bayern Munich, yes they also took a point off Juventus, but even the most hard-nosed Villa supporter may struggle to argue that they could realistically be described as ‘a top ten team in the world’ at this stage.
Alex Baena of Villarreal FC in action during the LaLiga match between CA Osasuna and Villarreal CF at Estadio El Sadar on November 24, 2024 in Pamp...
Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Villarreal ace Alex Baena could prefer Arsenal over Aston Villa
Of course, the opinion of the everyday punter will matter little to Alex Baena.
After Arsenal and Aston Villa scouted the Spain star during November’s UEFA Nations League clash with Denmark in Copenhagen, it will down to Baena to decide which clubs belong amongst the global elite.
Speaking to Onda Cero ahead of Villarreal’s home clash with Real Betis on Sunday, Baena opened up on his potential departure from the Estadio de la Ceramica. And, while he did not mention any of his suitors by name, the inclination was that a team of Arsenal’s quality and stature may have an advantage over an Aston Villa side hammering away at the door of the elite without yet breaking through.
“I try not to look too much at what people say, although I do get [of the rumours sent to me],” Baena explains. “What I’m focused on is finishing the season at Villarreal and staying here, because that’s where I’m happiest.
“I’m thinking about what I have to do now. I’ve always said that, to leave Villarreal, it has to be a better team. And, for me, that has to be a top ten team in the world.
“Villarreal is the club of my life and, if one day that offer comes, we’ll sit down and talk and see what’s best for both of us.”
Alex Baena will cost £50m as Arsenal eye Real Madrid options
Still only 23, the Villarreal academy graduate is rapidly blossoming into one of the finest attacking midfielders on the continent.
Speaking of top tens, a player who ended last season with 18 assists to his name may be closing in on the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes, ready to take over the mantle as Europe’s premiere playmaker.
Baena has a £50 million release clause in his Villarreal contract.
If Villa were to turn their interest into something more concrete – TBR understands Alex Baena is a leading target for Aston Villa in 2025 alongside Besiktas striker Semih Kilicsoy – they would likely have to part with a fee which makes the former Girona loanee their joint-most expensive signing of all time alongside Amadou Onana.
Arsenal, meanwhile, appear keen to reduce the creative burden on Martin Odegaard’s shoulders.
TBR have been told that Arsenal are keeping tabs on Real Madrid’s Arda Guler. Los Blancos ace and former Manchester City starlet Brahim Diaz is a Gunners target too.
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