Aston Villa have lost some of their early-season fluency, but Unai Emery is nothing if not durable, and his side have developed a penchant for hard-fought victories.
Arsenal's recent lapse in form has left Aston Villa with the chance to close the deficit to the top of the Premier League table to only five points. Emery would be the first to downplay talk of the title, but the position the Villans are in illustrates the mighty gains that have been made since he replaced Steven Gerrard in 2022.
The Villa Park side's recruitment strategy has left something to be desired over the past several windows, but the old guard are standing strong at the moment.
Oldest Premier League Squads (25/26)
Club
Fulham
Aston Villa
Everton
Burnley
Newcastle
Data via Transfermarkt
However, this does illustrate the need for more up-and-coming talent to make their mark, but the current young crop are yet to prove they can emulate someone like Morgan Rogers, who is arguably Aston Villa's most influential player.
Morgan Rogers' significance at Aston Villa
Rogers, 23, has grown so much in only two years. He notched 30 goal involvements in all competitions for Aston Villa last season, and he's continued to play a key role in an attacking midfield berth this year.
Aston Villa winger Morgan Rogers
In December, Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher said that he's "looking like one of the best players in the Premier League", and Villa have responded to growing intrigue in their player by placing a £100m price tag on his signature.
Powerful, mobile and dynamic, Rogers is a unique part of the system, and to lose his presence would be perilous.
After all, Ollie Watkins has already suggested the Three Lions star could play for one of Europe's biggest outfits, and rumours have abounded in recent months.
Rogers might be the Villans' most valuable player, but he's quietly being rivalled as the team's most cog right now.
Aston Villa's best signing since Morgan Rogers
With Watkins beginning to show signs of wear and tear, Rogers is increasingly becoming the recognisable talisman at Villa Park.
Of course, forwards always steal the limelight, and Amadou Onana has quietly grown into a monstrous centre-midfielder, doing so much of the heavy lifting to enable players like Watkins and Rogers' success.
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Aston Villa's Emi Martinez celebrates with Amadou Onana.
Villa signed Onana from Everton for a whopping £50m fee in July 2024, but there's no question that Emery is getting bang for his buck, the anchoring midfielder bringing power and steel to the centre of the park. He is confident on the ball and brilliantly combative when against the run of play.
Aged 24, Onana is coming into his own, sharper and more intelligent before, incredibly active across the centre of the park and out into other areas of the pitch. He covers a lot of ground.
In the Premier League this season, the Belgium international has completed 55% of his dribbles and won 1.9 tackles and 5.1 duels per game, with the latter coming in at an impressive 66% success rate.
Premier League analyst Raj Chohan even hailed the towering presence for having grown into a "world-class" player, reading the game like a scholar and developing his ball-playing skills, which were arguably lacking when he played his football on Merseyside.
Onana has hinted at wanting to join a "world-class club", perhaps honest to a fault in his desire to take another step up the ladder. This was met with frustration from some Villa supporters, understandably, but there's no question that the Belgian will only leave in the coming years if NSWE are paid a pretty penny.
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Aston Villa's Amadou Onana in action against Brentford.
He's the real deal, and while Rogers takes the plaudits more often than not, Onana's robust midfield work may well have quietly have established him as the cream of Emery's crop.
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