Sam Stone

Tue 7 February 2023 21:49, UK

It’s been a whirlwind start to life at Aston Villa for Jordan Nobbs with the former Arsenal midfielder featuring in four matches so far.

The 30-year-old has started all the games she has played in thus far for Carla Ward’s side and seems to be settling into life at Villa Park. She’s been substituted in three out of the four matches, but considering her age, it’s not a surprise to see Ward introduce fresher legs towards the back end of games.

Nobbs was a consistent feature for Arsenal over a long period of time, so how has she managed to translate her form for the Gunners to Ward’s side? Here Villa News takes a look at her start to life in a Claret and Blue jersey.

Unfortunately, Nobbs has yet to register a goal or an assist for Villa and her goal threat is certainly lower than during her time in the capital. As per Wyscout, Nobbs’ expected goals per 90 is 0.28. However, she is currently averaging just 0.04 for the Villans.

She wasn’t brought to the club to provide a consistent goal threat, but the sharp decrease in her expected goals should certainly be a concern. It’s a similar story when it comes to her expected assist rate. Over the course of her Arsenal career, Nobbs averaged an XGA of 0.23, which means she is expected to register an assist just over every four games.

However, so far at Villa, she’s registered an XGA of just 0.01 per 90 minutes. Worryingly, there’s no indication that she’s due to turn these statistics around. One aspect of Nobbs’ play which has usually been a standout is her passing ability. However, her passing has yet to really get going for the Villans.

Over the course of her career she’s maintained a passing accuracy of 83 per cent per 90 minutes, she’s marginally below that in a Villa shirt, with 76 per cent. However, the amount of passes she’s completed has dramatically fallen as well.

For the Gunners, she was completing 54 passes per 90 minutes, whereas for Villa she’s managing just 36. The 31-year-old is at her best when she’s getting on the ball in attacking areas and dictating the play. At present, Villa’s style of play is potentially making life hard for their January signing.

Nobbs was a constant in Arsenal’s team due to her technical ability and confidence on the ball. Ward should potentially look to get her on the ball more consistently in attacking areas. Nobbs normally receives the ball 42 times per 90 min, however, since her move to Villa, that has dramatically decreased to just 27.

It’s certainly early days when it comes to her career in a claret and blue shirt, and Ward is more than capable of working out how to get the best out of her January addition – if she can, the Villans will have another excellent midfield option to call upon.

In other Aston Villa news, here are three things learned from the draw with Brighton.