John McGinn has shared what Unai Emery told him ahead of kick-off before the Aston Villa star scored the winning goal against Arsenal on Saturday.
McGinn was speaking to Sky Sports (broadcast on 9/12; 19:42) after his first-half goal proved to be the difference at Villa Park as the Villans staked a further claim to be considered title contenders in the Premier League.
John McGinn was outstanding on Saturday. There was real intrigue over how Villa would fare after beating Manchester City in midweek.
John McGinn shares what Unai Emery told him before Aston Villa win
Villa rode their luck at times. But crucially, McGinn was able to take his chance, while Arsenal were unable to find the back of the net with any of theirs.
And it seems that Unai Emery was optimistic that the Scotland international would make the difference against the side who went into the weekend top of the table.
McGinn shared that Emery wanted to see him on the scoresheet in this game.
“It means a lot. The manager said to me at pre-match that I owed him a goal,” he told Sky Sports.
“I actually had an exact same chance in one of the Europa Conference League games. Leon has cut it across the exact same, I’ve tried to lay it off on my right foot.
“We’ve got a lot of staff behind the scenes who analyse that stuff and say if that happens again turn on your right and shoot with your left. Just in that split second I managed to do that
“I didn’t get the cleanest of strikes but it managed to go in the corner and I’m just delighted.”
Villans proved a real point with victory over potential title rivals
Villa are one of the form sides in the division. Only Liverpool have matched their tally of points from the last five games, with four wins and a draw coming in that time.
Arsenal fans may have expected Villa to be below par after the high of beating the champions during the week. And some Gunners supporters clearly think that they were unfortunate to not be awarded a penalty and have a goal ruled out.
But just like Arsenal so often this season, Villa found a way to get over the line and secure a massive win in their campaign.
And once again, it was McGinn who proved to be their hero.
