Nicolas Jackson spoke about scoring his first goal for Aston Villa.
The Senegalese forward has reunited with Unai Emery after the pair worked together at Villarreal. Cast to the wayside at Chelsea, the forward felt that he would be valued at Villa Park, and he would make his debut for the Villans in a 1-0 defeat against reigning Premier League champions Arsenal.
‘I’m very happy to be here’
Jackson gives the team a dynamic threat in the channels capable of carrying and he has tested some of the best defenders in the English topflight with his repetitive running at high intensity. Indeed, it was such a situation that engineered his first goal for his new club. Pau Torres launched a long ball over the backline, then Jackson beat the goalkeeper to the ball and put an effort into the back of the net.
His finish added to goals from John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia as Villa racked up a 3-1 lead before the end of the first half. Those goals were the first three of the team’s season, and their first victory of the campaign can help the ‘new Villa’ to start taking steps to their targets for the year.
“It means a lot. I saw the goalkeeper standing off his line the whole game. I just saw the space for my run and then Pau passed me the ball. It was perfect.
“I’m very happy to be here and happy to be with the team, manager and staff. Hopefully, there are many more to come.
“Every game is different. We don’t care about the past, we just focus on the next one. Like every team, we have our ambitions. We just know it’s a long journey, so we take it step by step (and) try to win every game we play.”
