Aston Villa's fairytale continues: matchwinner banishes the 't-word'

The two victories against the title contenders mean that the Birmingham-based club is now just two points away from the top spot in the Premier League. However, The Lions are not yet speaking a word about a potential title.

'I'm banning the T-word. We've had sixteen rounds of games so there's a long way to go. We respect everyone around us who has been in these positions for years. They are so experienced. We are newcomers,' states captain John McGinn in conversation with The Guardian about Aston Villa's new status.

The Scotsman was the matchwinner against The Gunners by scoring the only goal of the match after just seven minutes, helped by the fact that Kai Havertz's equalizer was disallowed for handball towards the end. As a result, Aston Villa won 1-0, marking manager Unai Emery's team's fifteenth home victory of the season. 'Can we keep this up? I don't know. We'll see. We need to try and improve our away form. It's not terrible, but it can be improved,' said the captain.

The signs of a top finish are there for Aston Villa. The Birmingham side has amassed 35 points or more after sixteen matches for the fifth time in history. On three previous occasions, Aston Villa became champions and once they finished second. Currently, Aston Villa is in third place in the Premier League, two points behind the leader Liverpool.