Aston Villa have enjoyed an outstanding start to the 2023/24 campaign, thrusting themselves well and truly into the Premier League top-four race and starting strongly in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
An early duck from the Carabao Cup was disappointing as Everton came to town, earning a rare away win at Villa Park. Other than that and the 5-1 opening-day defeat to Newcastle United, however, there have not been many down moments.
Unai Emery's guidance of the squad has been exceptional and there have been countless strong performers on a consistent basis, a couple of which have stood out above the rest. A few have fallen below par, though, and need to step up.
With that in mind, here are our honest player ratings for the season so far, with a brief analysis of all 29 individuals to feature since the first fixture on August 12.
1. Robin Olsen - 4
Although the the results have been strong whenever he has played – three wins and a defeat with three conceded – the mistakes have been far too frequent. The Swede can be thankful not more of his misplaced passes out from the back have ended in goals conceded. It’s a shame because he’s definitely a popular figure in the dressing room.
2. Emiliano Martinez - 8
The World Cup winner has responded immensely well to the 5-1 defeat at Newcastle on the opening day with some extraordinary performances since. The 4-0 victory over Everton and the 1-0 win at Chelsea really stand out as Martinez made multiple top saves in each. A big mistake crept in at Nottingham Forest but we'd like his leadership from the back has been seriously impressive.
3. Matty Cash - 8
Has shown a real improvement so far this term, especially going forward. Emery has sometimes even utilised him as a right midfielder due to his strength further up the field. Cash has three goals and two assists to his name. He’s also one of just five to feature in every match so far.
4. Calum Chambers - 3
Did an alright job in the home leg against Hibernian but was then massively exposed as Villa lost 3-2 away at Legia Warsaw. In our player ratings from that game, Chambers was handed a three as he was at fault for all of the goals. He’s not had a chance to redeem himself but this is a ‘so far’ article after all.