As can be said for many positions within the Aston Villa squad, left back is an area of strength for the club. Saturday saw the highly capable Lucas Digne take the day off. In his place, Ian Maatsen showed that on most other rosters he'd be the clear starting option.
The outside back role is just one of many examples of the options afforded to Unai Emery at the moment. He'll likely turn to Digne during the Champions League bout against PSG on Wednesday, but at this point, predicting who will start from the opening whistle is something of a fool's errand.
Either way, future lineups are for the boss to decide. Given his recent track record, Emery has earned the right to do however he sees fit in this regard without too much pushback. What Maatsen showed against Forest is an equal ability to pose problems for opposing defenders down the left-hand side.
Not only did his efforts lead to an assist, but he set up numerous chances that nearly set up a teammate on other occasions as well. Oftentimes, the job of an outside player is to simply garner attention from the opposition and then put the ball into danger areas. When those moments aren't on, keep possession and stay ready.
Great Aston Villa LB options
The Dutchman did quite well in all of these aspects while also being solid in his defensive AVFC duties. Maatsen brought a lot of energy and showed plenty of promise from his LB role in the attack and certainly earned continued consideration to be part of this Emery rotation approach for the time being.
As mentioned, with Digne also in the squad, both will need to find ways to stay ready when they aren't in the starting XI. The pair of left backs playing well and giving their manager a difficult decision to consider is only going to be a positive aspect for Aston Villa moving forward.