Douglas Luiz analysis: Unai Emery breaks down how the Aston Villa midfielder has improved thanks to greater freedom

Douglas Luiz was always capable of more and he knew it. But it is only under Unai Emery that the Brazilian has become the complete midfielder. It has been a key factor in taking Aston Villa to the brink of Champions League qualification this season.

His comments during the international break about having "more freedom" to express himself under Emery reflect his change of role. After being seen as a holding midfielder throughout his first three seasons in a Villa shirt, a different player has emerged.

Douglas Luiz is a goalscorer now. No midfielder in the Premier League has scored more in the competition since the start of last season. Four penalties from four attempts have helped boost that total but he is fourth even without his perfect spot-kick record.

With nine goals and five assists this Premier League season alone, he has matched his total of goal involvements from his first three campaigns combined. As his two goals against Nottingham Forest showed, this is a player who wants to get on the end of things now.

"He is a player who has always had a good instinct to get into the box," Emery tells Sky Sports. "He is scoring goals because his instinct is very good. He is feeling comfortable getting into the opposition box when we are in the attacking third."

Speaking to Emery at Villa's training ground, there is the opportunity to turn the laptop his way and show him a graphic depicting Douglas Luiz's career heatmap before the Spanish coach took over in November 2022 - and how it looks in the time since then.

It reveals that while the 25-year-old midfielder is still happy picking the ball up inside his own half, he is now much more accustomed to finding himself in possession closer to the opposition goal. It is from there