Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Morgan Sanson has been ruled out of Sunday afternoon’s clash against West Ham in the Premier League.
What’s the story?
The 27-year-old was caught losing his cool in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal nine days ago, seemingly annoyed by Smith’s preference to use Anwar El Ghazi as his final substitute, which prompted him to rip off his warm-up top and aim a kick at the nearby water bottles.
It appears that he won’t be in contention to face West Ham, although not for a disciplinary reason.
The Villa boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against the Hammers today that the Frenchman would be missing from action due to illness.
Fans will be frustrated
After seeing Sanson’s mini-tantrum at the Emirates Stadium last week, the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece delivered his verdict on the Frenchman in recent days.
He said: “A very interesting and worthy point to make this, Dean. The body language amongst the group on the pitch was telling against Arsenal. A lot of bickering and finger-pointing as opposed to, ‘Right lads, let’s stick together and get it right.’ It does point to a lot of frustration that’s been boiling over in the last three weeks. Are they happy with the system that’s being implemented?
“As for Sanson, he wants a crack. He’s returned earlier than scheduled from his hamstring strain so I didn’t expect to see him involved. He’s fit now and will want a chance to play – especially given the performances of those ahead of him of late.
“Ramsey and then El Ghazi got the nod over him and he lost it. I don’t mind it. He needs to get his head right, though, and it’s something I’ll ask the boss about on Friday.”
The fact that Sanson has only played ten times in all competitions since arriving from Marseille back in January must be a massive frustration for Villa fans.
The 27-year-old’s inability to stay fit for any period of time, and his current illness, niggling injuries and whatnot, is sure to have supporters fuming with one of their marquee signings from only a few short months ago.
Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa’s recent Premier League struggles…
