As Aston Villa continue to compete on multiple fronts, Unai Emery will need his entire squad to step up and deliver when called upon.
Take this weekend for example. With Boubacar Kamara suspended and Ollie Watkins facing a late fitness test, there could be opportunities for others to come in and prove their worth to the Villa boss.
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That was the case in midweek in the Europa Conference League, with both Robin Olsen and Clement Lenglet providing improved reliability and confidence in the depth options we have in the current squad.
A lot has been said about Olsen in particular given his shaky performances in the past, and despite the wealth of experience that the 33-year-old Swedish international has, he has struggled to convince between the posts in a Villa shirt.
On Thursday night though, he looked much more assured, composed and calm with his distribution out from the back, and although he wasn’t called into action a great deal, he commanded his area well and looked in control.
It’s been pretty frantic and uneasy previously, not only in terms of potential mistakes but just his general presence not offering enough assurance at the back, and so it’s hoped that his performance in midweek was a sign of things to come moving forward when we need him to come in and rest Emiliano Martinez.
As for Lenglet, the Frenchman has now featured in five European games so far this season, and he continues to offer a reliable option to rotate out Pau Torres and give the Spaniard an opportunity to rest.
The 28-year-old Barcelona loanee is also vastly experienced and has shown his quality at a high level previously, and although there was a settling in period to adjust to Unai Emery’s demands, he is now starting to show more of his class in both phases of the game and looks to be an astute addition to the squad this year.
He’s been solid defensively and has combined that with his technical ability to grow into an important role in Emery’s side, and so again, it’s hoped that he can continue in that form in the coming months to continue to give us reliable depth at the back.
Emery noted in his post-match press conference that those individuals are setting the example for others in the squad on how to come in when needed and do a job.
We’ll hope to see the likes of Jhon Duran do similar, and if they can, it will be imperative in our challenge to sustain this excellent start to the season and ensure we can last the course over what will be a gruelling campaign.