Aston Villa have quietly risen from 19th to third in the Premier League table over the past three months – and Morgan Rogers has been key to that.
Rogers has started every league game this season, scoring both goals in a recent win at Leeds, before providing a fine assist in their comeback win at Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek.
In comparison to many of the other teams towards the top of the table, few people across the country have been talking about Unai Emery’s side, but the win at Brighton moved them into the top three, after just one defeat in 11 league matches.
Under the radar
Aston Villa host Arsenal on Saturday, with the possibility of moving to within three points of top spot if they win. Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo at the launch of PUMA's new flagship store in London, Rogers explained that he’s been more than happy for Villa to creep up the table almost unnoticed.
“We always go under the radar,” he said. “When you’re not a traditional big club, you go under the radar naturally. We just do our business in silence.
“If people want to speak about us or they don’t, we don’t care – we know what we’ve got, how good we can be and the task we’ve got. We just keep pushing and trying to get better.”
Rogers thinks that, actually, going under the radar may have worked to their advantage. “Exactly, no-one is speaking about us, thinking we’ve got a chance to do this or that, whatever it may be,” he said. “But that’s fine, we don’t care.”
Before speaking to FFT, Rogers was shown around PUMA’s impressive new store, right in the heart of Oxford Street. It’s the brand’s largest ever European flagship store.
“It’s a really nice place, and the event’s been really good, I’ve been really happy to be here,” he said. “I’ve been with PUMA for almost a year now and it’s been really good – a super cool brand, super nice, it’s just been really smooth and enjoyable.”
No limits for Villa
Rogers helped Aston Villa to fourth place in the Premier League table in 2023-24, then sixth last season. Asked how high was possible this time around, he said: “Who knows? No-one would have put us third right now, would they?
“Who knows in football these days. There are so many difficult games in the Premier League and the ones you think are the so-called easier ones on paper end up being the most difficult, so we never take anything for granted, or look at runs and think ‘This is easier or harder’.
“Who turns up on the day normally wins the game, the Premier League is that close. You can see that in the points – the difference between points and positions is nothing really at the moment. It’s a great league to be a part of.”
Looking at the table after the win at Brighton, is it fanciful to suggest that even first place isn’t out of the question for Villa this term?
“Who knows?” he smiled. “We won’t put a cap on what we can do. Of course with the experience of the other clubs, they’re so good with the managers they’ve got.
“But we feel like that ourselves. We feel like we’ve got a really good squad and we feel we’ve got one of the best managers in the world.”
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