As the international break draws to a close and Premier League football comes back into focus, it’s a great time to be associated with Aston Villa. Dean Smith’s side are sixth in the early standings, are ranked as WhoScored’s best performing Premier League team and Jack Grealish is at long last receiving the widespread acclaim he deserves, starting three consecutive England games and showing the type of unique talent that Villa fans know he has.
The inspired performances of Grealish, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins in attack have captured the headlines, but Villa’s defence, so often the achilles heel pre-lockdown, has been the bedrock of a sparkling run of form.
The corps of Martinez, Cash, Mings, Konsa and Targett cost around £80m to assemble and have started every game so far this campaign, keeping five clean sheets in seven matches. Each member of the back line brings something different to the party.
In goal, Emiliano Martinez has been everything Villa could have hoped for when they took a calculated risk and paid Arsenal £20m for his services. Emi’s assured presence has been a welcome addition and the numbers illustrate his impact. Martinez has the 4th best save percentage in the Premier League at 71.88% and ranks 5th in prevented goals per 90 minutes (0.116). The Argentine has commanded his penalty area in a way that the likes of Reina and Nyland never did, exiting his goal 1.46 times per game (6th among Premier League keepers) and contesting the 7th most aerial duels per 90 minutes (0.4). Thanks to Martinez, Villa fans no longer need to worry about the competence of their shot stopper.
The signing of Matty Cash raised a few eyebrows this summer, as few people expected Villa’s first acquisition to be a right-back. The position appeared settled with Frederic Guilbert entering his second season with the club and the immortal Ahmed Elmohamady also on staff. As rumours circulated that Guilbert would be allowed to leave, Villa fans bemoaned that this was harsh on the Frenchman. Those protests have gone silent since the football started, as Cash has rapidly become one of the best right-backs in the Premier League. That’s no wild exaggeration; WhoScored have him ranked as the 2nd best right-back, 3rd best full-back and 24th overall player (along with Tyrone Mings). Cash has provided an injection of energy to the defence, anchoring Villa’s industrious right flank with the non-stop Trezeguet. Cash led the Championship in interceptions last season and is remarkably repeating this feat in the Premier League. Cash is making it look incredibly easy for someone who has only been a full-time full-back for one full season.
Ezri Konsa was also signed from the Championship and after spending last season acclimatising to the fierce competition of the Premier League, he has now cemented his place in the back four. Konsa appears to be getting better with every passing game, using his combination of speed and comfortability on the ball to his benefit. The former Brentford man may not be the most physically imposing, but he has become adept at using his body to buy free-kicks when in trouble, winning 18 fouls so far this season. That’s the same number as James Rodriguez and is more than any other centre-back in the league. Tyrone Mings has already broken into the England team, but with Gareth Southgate intent on using three central defenders, and a lack of inspiring options at his disposal, Ezri Konsa has a chance to push for his first cap if he continues his upward trajectory.
The longest tenured player in Villa’s defensive unit is Tyrone Mings, who’s been at the club less than two years. That speaks to the incredible (and unlikely) success that the hierarchy at Villa Park have had in assembling this group over such a short period of time. Mings is ranked as WhoScored’s 5th best Premier League centre-back for the 2020/21 season and has also contributed two goals so far this term, possessing a potent blend of strength, size, speed, positional awareness and ability with the ball at his feet. When you combine all of that with the fact that he is left footed and has the leadership qualities that are so difficult to find these days, the most expensive signing of the ensemble has been worth every penny.
The final piece of the puzzle is Matt Targett, probably the least heralded member of the defence. Targett’s numbers aren’t as gaudy as his comrades (he ranks as WhoScored’s 11th best left-back in the Premier League and 126th overall player) but he performs a valuable role in this Villa side. The least defensively inclined of the back four, Targett plays higher up the pitch than any of his fellow defenders and sometimes even higher than Trezeguet on the opposite wing. This is because of his excellent understanding with Jack Grealish, which has been mutually beneficial for the pair. Targett is yet to register an assist this year but has two pre-assists, showing his ability to find Grealish and Barkley with incisive passes around the penalty area. He also shook an own goal out of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka with a teasing low cross towards Trezeguet, en route to Villa’s emphatic 3-0 triumph at The Emirates Stadium. Matt Targett wouldn’t claim to be a flawless defender, but he is a crucial cog in the system that makes Villa a vicious attacking threat on a week-to-week basis.
There were questions asked about Villa’s defence after they conceded seven goals in two home losses to Leeds and Southampton, but their other five rock-solid performances are proof that those two defeats were an aberration, not an indication of any underlying weakness. If Aston Villa’s defence maintains or even improves their current levels of play, the sky will be the limit for this thrilling team.
The Villa Ramble 
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