Aston Villa captain John McGinn said he is not allowing talk of a Premier League title in the dressing-room after his team followed up their dominant midweek win over champions Manchester City with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Arsenal at Villa Park.
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A club-record 15th consecutive home win in the league lifted Villa into third, a point behind Arsenal and two behind new leaders Liverpool.
Under Unai Emery, Villa’s points total 35 is their best start to a season at this stage since 1980/81 when they last were crowned champions.
But McGinn said that any talk of a title challenge is premature.
“I'm banning the T-word," the Scot said. "It's gameweek 16 so there's a long way to go.
"We respect everyone round about us who have been in this position for years. We're newbies - if we can keep it up, we'll see."
McGinn's goal v Arsenal
This is football. 👌
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2023
Emery Ball in full flow! 😍 pic.twitter.com/Cy18WxMQFg
McGinn added that his winner against Arsenal was a result of the meticulous training Emery and his staff do.
”The chance today, I had the exact same opportunity in the UEFA [Europa] Conference League … I have actually tried to lay it off,” he explained. “But the staff do a lot of analysis and they said, ‘If that happens again, come on your right foot and shoot with your left.’ Thankfully they picked that up and it paid dividends.”
Like his captain, Emery was cautious of any title aspirations after he saw his team hang on to beat last season’s runners-up who had started the day as leaders.
“I will speak again when we are in game 30 to 32 and if we are in the same position as now then maybe I can speak about it," Emery told Sky Sports.
"At the start we are not a contender, it is only game 16. We are in [the top four] and must try to keep it."
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams, while admiring Villa’s defensive performance, thinks a title challenge might be beyond a small squad.
“I don’t think they will go all the way; they haven’t got the strength,” said Adams.
But, with Emery having overseen an uplift in fortunes since taking over in November 2022 – with 26 wins from 41 Premier League matches and climbing from above the bottom three to third in that time - former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool midfield Jamie Redknapp says the club’s fans have every right to dream.
"These are exciting times," Redknapp told Sky Sports. "They've had to watch some bad teams and some bad experiences. This is a big football club and it's great to see them doing so well."