João Gomes is exactly what Aston Villa need in midfield

There were some really good individual performances from Aston Villa players against Brentford on Saturday, and although Nicolas Jackson, Johan Manzambi and John McGinn will understandably attract plenty of attention for their attacking contributions, I thought João Gomes was probably the best player on the pitch. It was another really encouraging display from the Brazilian, who is beginning to show exactly what he can offer this team, and I think we're seeing a midfielder who is going to become increasingly important as the season progresses.

I thought Gomes was brilliant against Brentford, particularly when you consider the demands that were placed on him during the game. Brentford are a very physical side, they're well organised and they make it difficult for you to play through midfield, but Gomes seemed comfortable dealing with pretty much everything they threw at him. He got around the pitch brilliantly, used the ball well and showed that aggression in his game that allows him to win possession in situations where other players might struggle.

There's a real bite to the way he plays, and I like that about him because Villa have needed somebody who can get into opponents, compete physically and come away with the ball. He's not somebody who simply throws himself into challenges either, because there's intelligence to the way he approaches those situations, and he seems to have a really good understanding of when to engage an opponent and when to use his body to protect possession.

What particularly impressed me against Brentford was how comfortable he looked receiving the ball in tight areas. There were occasions when Villa were trying to build from the back and Brentford were pressing us quite aggressively, with Gomes being given possession in some really difficult positions. I remember seeing him having a conversation with Tyrone Mings during the game, seemingly about the situations in which he was receiving the ball from goal kicks, because there were times when he was being asked to deal with an awful lot of pressure.

I don't necessarily think we want him receiving the ball in those positions quite as frequently as he did on Saturday, because there were moments when we were making life unnecessarily difficult for ourselves, but the way he dealt with those situations was really impressive. He was able to take possession with players around him, use his body to create a little bit of space and find a way of getting Villa moving forward again, which isn't an easy thing to do against a team that presses as effectively as Brentford.

It's also worth considering how much has changed in Villa's midfield over the summer, because we've lost Youri Tielemans, who was such an important player in the way we built attacks and progressed the ball. Tielemans was exceptional at receiving possession in difficult areas and finding passes that could take several opposition players out of the game, and I don't think we're necessarily going to replace everything he gave us with one footballer. It's quite telling that he is struggling outside of being with Emery at Aston Villa.

The same applies to the way we build from the back when Pau Torres isn't in the team. Pau has that ability to unlock a defence with his passing, and when you remove him and Tielemans from the side, you're naturally going to have to find different ways of progressing the ball through the pitch. I think we saw some of those challenges against Brentford, particularly when they pressed us from goal kicks, but Gomes showed that he can be a really important part of finding those alternative solutions.

He's not Tielemans, and I don't think we should expect him to be, because they're different types of midfielders who offer different qualities. What Gomes gives us is somebody who can cover ground, compete physically, recover possession and still be comfortable enough technically to contribute to the way Emery wants Villa to play. There were several occasions against Brentford when he managed to emerge with the ball from situations where it looked as though the opposition had him surrounded, and that's a really valuable quality to have in the Premier League.

I also think there's an interesting discussion to be had about the balance of Villa's midfield, particularly with Boubacar Kamara still working his way back towards his best form. I've seen some criticism of Kamara's performances recently, and while I agree that he hasn't quite been at the level we're accustomed to seeing from him, I thought there were some encouraging signs against Brentford.

He looked a little bit more like himself, and although I wouldn't suggest he's anywhere near his optimum level just yet, I thought there were indications that he's beginning to recover some of the sharpness and authority that make him such a good player. We have to remember that he's coming back from injury, and I think sometimes there's an expectation that somebody of his quality should immediately return to the standards we've seen from him previously, when it doesn't always work like that.

Kamara is such an important player for Aston Villa, not just because of what he does in possession but because of the protection he provides for the defence. When he's at his best, he reads danger exceptionally well, breaks up opposition attacks and makes life considerably easier for the players behind him. I think some of the defensive problems we've seen recently will naturally improve as he gets back towards his best, because so much of what Villa do defensively starts with the players in midfield.

Having Gomes alongside him gives us an interesting combination, and I think there's plenty of potential for that partnership to develop. They're both capable of winning the ball, they're comfortable in possession and they have the physical attributes to compete against some of the strongest midfield units in the league. As they become more familiar with one another, I think we'll see a better understanding of when one player needs to hold his position and when the other can be more aggressive in trying to regain possession.

That's particularly important because I don't think Villa have quite established the defensive security that we enjoyed at times over the previous couple of seasons. The departure of Ezri Konsa has left a gap at centre-back, and there are still questions about the best partnership in that area, but the midfield has a significant role to play in helping us become more difficult to play against.

Gomes looks like somebody who can contribute enormously to that, and I think his performance against Brentford demonstrated that he's capable of doing more than simply providing energy and aggression. His use of the ball was excellent, he looked composed under pressure and he was willing to take responsibility in situations where Villa needed somebody to help us play through Brentford's press.

It's another reason why I'm encouraged by the summer recruitment, because we've brought in players who don't necessarily replicate the qualities of those who departed, but who can offer something different and potentially improve us in other areas. We're still learning how all these pieces fit together, and there will inevitably be periods where the team doesn't function quite as smoothly as we'd like, but I think the quality of the individuals we've added is becoming increasingly apparent.

I thought Saturday was probably Gomes' most impressive performance in a Villa shirt so far, and what I particularly enjoyed was how complete his contribution was. He wasn't just winning tackles or covering ground, although he did plenty of both, because he was also involved in helping