FORMER ASTON VILLA midfielder Paul Merson has warned Gabriel Agbonlahor to tread carefully and perhaps leave it a while before he goes out in Birmingham again.
The Midlands club were relegated at Old Trafford following a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United and club captain Agbonlahor was pictured partying and allegedly using a legal high just hours after Villa ended their 28-year stay in England’s top flight.
Merson, who also spent four years at Villa Park, advised the 29-year-old to remain low-key and acknowledge the disappointment currently surrounding the club’s relegation.
“In this day and age you’ve got to have a bit of respect,” Merson told the Fantasy Football Club Podcast.
“I’d be sitting down with him now and strongly advising him not to go out in Birmingham for a long time because it will be dangerous for him.
Villa fans pay a lot of money and they are very passionate. I think he would be in danger, if I’m being honest.
“He is getting blamed left, right and centre, but it’s not just Agbonlahor, it’s the club as well. It’s not just Agbonlahor who has sent them down for what he’s been doing in the last couple of weeks; it’s the club and all the decisions.”
Villa defender Joleon Lescott also found himself in hot water following Saturday’s loss, after saying relegation from the Premier League was “a weight off the shoulders”.
But Sky Sports pundit Merson, who enjoyed 12 years playing for Arsenal, defended the ex-Manchester City player and said his words were taken out of context.
“I wouldn’t blame him,” he added.
“He didn’t mean it the way it came out. I thought he meant that they could concentrate on next season.
He wants to stay and fair enough to him. If you’re on that kind of money you’d want to stay anyway wouldn’t you? You’re not going to get that somewhere else.
“He got stick for not meaning what he said.”
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