Lucas Digne Ruled out of Aston Villa Clash v Brentford as Sky Sports Pundit Hails ‘outstanding’ Full-back
When Aston Villa visits Brentford the next Saturday, they will be without Lucas Digne for the first time this season.
The Villans defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Villa Park on Saturday, December 9, to continue their incredible run of success in the Premier League.
Digne is one of just five players who have started every one of Villa’s 16 games this season, which has been crucial to the team’s success.
In fact, among Villa players, Digne’s 1,403 Premier League minutes of play are surpassed only by Pau Torres (1,409), according to WhoScored.
However, the Frenchman picked up his fifth booking of the season against Arsenal – a game in which he registered 33 touches – and will now serve a one-game ban against Brentford.
That will surely see Alex Moreno come into the side for his first top-flight start of the season, having so far been restricted to three sub outings.
Speaking on Sky Sports News on Monday [11 December, 11:11am], Stephen Warnock backed Villa to adjust to the change in their back-line.
“Lucas Digne has been an everpresent at left-back. They did bring in Alex Moreno to push him, but he’s been injured,” Warnock said.
“This season, Digne has excelled. Thus, their style of play hasn’t altered as a result of the defence switch.
How often do we assume that teams will suffer as a result of all the changes? Aston Villa’s performance has been astounding.
This season, Digne leads Villa in several metrics, including aerial duels won per game (1.6).
Ollie Watkins comes in next on that list with “only” 1.1 per game, therefore Digne is far superior to the others in that sense.
In terms of interceptions per game (1.2), crosses per game (1.7), and crucial passes per game (1.8), the former Everton player leads the pack.
That goes to show that Digne not only stands out defensively, but he also plays a big part in attacking moves, as reflected by his two assists.
It goes without saying, then, that being without the 30-year-old against Brentford is a blow, and it means Moreno must hit the ground running.
It is unfair to pass any kind of judgement on Moreno considering he has just played 29 minutes in the Premier League this season. The summer signing.
You’re hoping that when the game against Brentford ends, the Spaniard will have recorded a crucial pass, a cross, or maybe an interception.
Digne has been just as vital for Villa as any other player, even though others have gotten more recognition; this may now be demonstrated next weekend.
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