There were plenty of positives for Aston Villa despite their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday afternoon. Unai Emery’s side suffered a home defeat at Villa Park, but they went toe-to-toe with the Gunners and could have left with points if they converted their chances. Ollie Watkins was far from his best and should have left with at least one goal to his name, but David Raya’s incredible reactionary save denied him from close range to stop Aston Villa from taking the lead.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Second-half goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey sunk Villa and inflicted their first defeat of the season, but there were plenty of signs that they will be competing at the top end of the table once again this season.
The brightest light from their defeat was the performance of Morgan Rogers, who impressed in a central position.
Rogers joined Villa from Middlesbrough for £15million in January and he enjoyed a strong end to last season – now as a starter he looks to be moving up the gears.
Morgan Rogers compared to Jude Bellingham
Rogers was starting regularly at left wing towards the end of last season and he ended the campaign with three Premier League goals.
Rogers was considered for an England call-up by Gareth Southgate over the summer, but he ended up narrowly missing out.
However, an international call-up will not be far away if he continues his current form, and comparisons to Three Lions star Jude Bellingham will only help his cause.
Jamie Redknapp was full of praise for Rogers after the defeat to Arsenal.
“There were so many parts of his game which were just a joy to watch today,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
“He’s different. Jude Bellingham is obviously [England’s] stand-out number 10 in that role. But there are parts of what Jude Bellingham does that we all admire which he was doing today.
“But Jude Bellingham’s goals are such an important factor of his game, so that’s what he’s going to have to add.
“He stood out. Alongside Odegaard and Rice, he was the outstanding midfield player. Not just by a little bit, but by a long way.
“I thought he was magnificent.”
Aston Villa have a gem on their hands
Emery has been so impressive at improving Villa players since his appointment as manager.
On top of that, their recruitment has been spot on and Rogers now looks like a steal at £15million. He stood out against one of the strongest midfield partnerships in the Premier League and at 22 years old there is plenty of room for improvement.
Aston Villa made contact to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta earlier in the window and they have remained in the market for a centre-forward, but Rogers’ form up front has cured that headache.
