Alejandro Garnacho during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Chelsea at St James' Park.
Alejandro Garnacho(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
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Alejandro Garnacho seems to have taken a swipe at Chelsea after Aston Villa's pre-season friendly victory against Indonesia All Stars.
The 22 year old winger, who recently departed the Blues to join Unai Emery's squad on loan, made his bow at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on Saturday.
While Garnacho couldn't christen his maiden outing for the Villans with a goal, he contributed to their two-goal advantage at the interval. The Argentine was amongst several substitutions at half-time, with James Wright being the sole player to remain on the pitch, completing the full 90 minutes in goal.
Villa cruised to a 3-1 triumph, and Garnacho was thrilled to start positively. Following the match, the Chelsea loanee posted an action shot from the game to his Instagram story and shared his thoughts on his display.
In what appeared to be a subtle jab at his parent club, Garnacho wrote: "See you soon Bangkok! First start after three months. Happy to be enjoying football again. One per cent every day. Thanks Indonesia."
The winger was specifically targeted by Emery following the departure of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea.
In comments to club media when the deal was announced, the Spaniard conveyed his enthusiasm about the acquisition. The Villa manager said: "We are delighted with Alejandro. He is so talented, young, and he showed us his wish to help our project. We are really happy."
Eager to assess Garnacho more thoroughly, Emery gave him his debut start at the weekend. While he didn't specifically highlight him for commendation in his post-match VillaTV interview, he expressed satisfaction with his squad's performance overall.
"We are happy and we are feeling comfortable here," said Emery. "After the first two weeks, we did our work in Birmingham. Now this camp is being important, how we are going to get fit, to adapt with the new players.
"And as well, tactically, how we can – as soon as possible – try to understand our structure with the players we have and some starting to play. Of course, some players (are) still to start with us after the World Cup, but it is being positive, the way we are doing.
"Keep going, try to avoid injured players. Try to adapt as better as possible in our structure, the players (who) are joining us. I am really optimistic. How we are building the team, how we are with a lot of changes, how we are as well, responding every day.
"I want to tell all our supporters: we are coming back again with a new spirit, a new chapter we will do this year. Really, I am excited."
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