Emery claims Rogers ‘victim of dirty tactics’

UNAI EMERY has accused Aston Villa’s rivals of playing dirty to stop star-man Morgan Rogers. The England forward’s emergence has made him a marked man with teams constantly pushing the boundaries to stop him. Emery, whose side face Everton at home tomorrow, said: ‘Morgan is very important for us and sometimes they are trying to kick him and stop him, sometimes being close to a yellow card or red card.

‘At Arsenal, the foul by Mikel Merino on Morgan was a clear second yellow card (Merino escaped the second booking).’ Emery believes the modern game is more physical than it has ever been and plans to ask his squad to bulk up in the gym. ‘We need to adapt quickly to how football is changing,’ he said. ‘Morgan is a fighter and likes to fight with the defenders. But we need to be aware of how football is changing. There is more contact and fewer fouls. ‘When we played Arsenal there were a lot of duels and the contact was so, so strong.’