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Christian Benteke’s chances of staying at Aston Villa will improve if Tim Sherwood’s men lift the FA Cup, writes Neil Moxley in the Sunday People.

The Belgium striker is anxious to test himself in Europe next season as he looks to confirm his emergence as one of the best strikers on the continent.

If Arsenal win the FA Cup, Villa will not qualify for the Europa League as the losers do not now gain automatic entry into the competition.

But victory will enable Benteke to test himself – a fact that is important to the forward ahead of the upcoming European Championships.

He missed the World Cup last year due to injury and wants to be playing regularly – a fact that also increases Villa’s chances of retaining him.

Benteke is open-minded about staying at Villa – he is settled in the area and has another two years on his current contract to run.

However, that would be thrown into confusion if a £150million deal to buy Villa were to go ahead.