O'Neill hails Agbonlahor's strengths

06 February 2010 12:18
The two England hopefuls will have the chance to pit their skills against each other when Spurs and Villa meet at White Hart Lane on Saturday.[LNB]Agbonlahor has staked his claim for a place in the World Cup squad with an impressive 10-goal league haul this season, including a brace against Fulham last time out.[LNB]Defoe has been in even more explosive form, hitting the back of the net 23 times in all competitions for club and country.[LNB]Although O'Neill recognises Defoe's potency in front of goal, the Villa manager says that Agbonlahor's hold-up play and creativity give him the edge.[LNB]"Gabby has other strengths. I think Defoe is as good a goalscorer as there is in the Premiership and therefore in Europe," he told The Times.[LNB]"He is a natural finisher and always has been.[LNB]"The second goal Gabby scored at Fulham was an extraordinarily good goal and I think he can score more goals.[LNB]"He's capable. But he also has other aspects to his game. He's very strong now on hold-up play, bringing other people into it."[LNB][LNB] Tottenham v Aston Villa 1st Goalscorer: Agbonlahor, G. 13/2  

Source: Team_Talk