BBC pundit, Garth Crooks has opened up about Aston Villa, their start to the season and their potential title credentials.
It has been a great start to the season for Aston Villa which has been summed up by wins over Manchester City and Arsenal.
Under the stewardship of Unai Emery the Villans have gone from strength to strength and are now a top class outfit.
With their recent form, conversations about a potential title race have become more and more regular in the past week. Although that is the case, some aren’t quite so sure about their credentials. Former manager, Dean Smith has opened up about it and now a pundit has to…
What has Garth Crooks said?
Following the wins over Manchester City and Arsenal, John McGinn was included in the BBC Team of the Week by Garth Crooks.
This did see the pundit praise the Villans and their performances. On that, he said: “What a week this has been for Villa. Not only did they beat the champions City in midweek they went on to put their most dangerous title challengers to bed. City may have been having a bad time but Arsenal were not.”
A hard-fought win over the Gunners was very impressive but to win and dominate Man City was very impressive. The Villa captain was a standout over both games and has been singled out by Crooks for praise.
On the skipper, he said: “Villa’s victory over the Gunners is a good indicator of how far they have come under Unai Emery. Remember this was a man who managed Arsenal not so long ago and was shown the door. The real hero of the side at the moment is their captain McGinn. The Scot is playing the football of his life and can slot into almost any role required of him.”
His performance against some top-class opposition players was great. Even players like Declan Rice and Bernardo Silva couldn’t keep the Scotsman quiet.
With all the positive sentiment, Crooks was quick to bring Villa fans back down to earth in an attempt to temper expectations.
On that, Crooks added: “However, talk of winning the title is sheer fantasy. There’s more chance of Prince William taking charge of Villa’s remaining fixtures than them winning the Premier League.
It is safe to say that Crooks doesn’t believe in the Villans’ title credentials even with their recent form. No one is quite sure where Villa could finish this season but they have been great this campaign.
