Lucas Digne ruled out of Aston Villa clash v Brentford as Sky Sports pundit hails ‘outstanding’ full-back
Aston Villa will have to make do without Lucas Digne for the first time this season when they travel to Brentford next weekend.
The Villans maintained their superb run of form in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday (9 December).
Digne has been integral to Villa’s success this campaign, having started all 16 of their matches – one of five players to have done so.
Indeed, as per WhoScored, Digne’s 1,403 minutes of action in the Premier League is bettered only by Pau Torres (1,409) among Villa players.
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.
“Digne’s been outstanding this season. So the changing of the defence hasn’t changed the way they play.
“How often do we look at teams and think ‘they’re going to suffer with all the changes’. It’s been very, very impressive from Aston Villa.”
Digne leads the way in a number of metrics for Villa this season, including aerial duels won per game (1.6) [WhoScored].
Next on that list is Ollie Watkins with ‘only’ 1.1 per game, so Digne is above and beyond the rest in that regard.
The former Everton player is also top for interceptions per game (1.2), crosses per game (1.7) and key passes per game (1.8).
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.
Moreno has been limited to 29 minutes in the Premier League this season, so it is unfair to form any sort of judgement on the summer signing.
The Spaniard has yet to register a key pass, a cross or indeed an interception, which you hope will change come full-time against Brentford.
While others have received more plaudits, Digne has been as important as any Villa player – something that may now become clear next weekend.
In other Aston Villa news, a first-team regular has been dubbed a “hero” by Garth Crooks.