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Jordan Nobbs form since January transfer has been central to Aston Villa Women success in 2023
Aston Villa extended their unbeaten start to 2023 with a 2-1 victory over West Ham in the Women’s Super League on Sunday (12 March), with Jordan Nobbs netting a fourth goal from her last two league outings.
Goals from the ex-Arsenal midfielder and Rachel Daly on either side of half-time were enough to stave off a late comeback from the Hammers and extend Villa’s league run to three wins and two draws since the mid-season break.
Their impressive record since the New Year was bolstered by a pair of FA Women’s Cup wins over AFC Fylde and West Ham, with the one blemish on the cards being a 3-0 defeat to eventual Conti Cup winners Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Although manager Carla Ward will take many of the plaudits for Villa’s remarkable run of form – and rightly so – the role that Nobbs has played since her January transfer from Arsenal cannot be understated.
When Villa snapped up the 30-year-old on a permanent deal in the winter window, many expected her to slot in at the base of the midfield and help build up the team’s play from back-to-front – however, Nobbs has taken up a far more advanced position than this, and to great success.
With fellow January recruit Lucy Staniforth sitting at the base of the midfield, both Nobbs and Kenza Dali are giving that bit more freedom to express their attacking games in the final third.
Since her arrival at Bodymoor Heath, Nobbs has scored four goals, including a stunning hat-trick against Brighton, and has looked a real threat when probing in and around the penalty area with the ball at her feet.
The 70-cap England international has the second-best record for goals per 90 minutes (0.72), which is only behind the club’s top scorer Rachel Daly (0.75). [FOTMOB]
Nobbs has also recorded an average of 1.4 shots on target per 90 minutes, only bettered by Emily Gielnik (1.6), and has already created 11 chances since making her debut.
If the Villa midfielder continues her rich vein of form, Sarina Wiegman may face no other option but to select her for the Lionesses squad at the World Cup later this year.
In other Aston Villa news, Danny Mills was completely wrong about a ‘terrible’ Villa player after his recent transformation under Unai Emery.