Aston Villa: Unai Emery could wield axe on John McGinn after another stinker v Everton
Aston Villa star John McGinn could well be in danger of a brutal axe at Villa Park if he doesn’t improve his performances after yet another below-par showing v Everton.
Aston Villa missed the chance to move level on points with Premier League pace-setters Liverpool as they were forced to settle for a draw in a scrappy encounter at Goodison Park on Sunday (14 January).
The Villans failed to produce the decisive moment to enable them to overhaul Manchester City and move into second place in the table in what was Unai Emery’s first 0-0 draw in his 97th English top-flight game.
Villa thought they had taken a first-half lead when Alex Moreno rifled a 25-yard finish past Everton keeper Jordan Pickford but the goal was ruled out for offside after a four-minute VAR check.
Everton had chances of their own before the break but the struggling Dominic Calvert-Lewin could not beat Emi Martinez after being put through 1v1 with the Argentinian.
It was a very tepid encounter at Goodison Park as both teams cancelled each other out but Emery may feel the unconvincing display from his team was down to his key players not performing to their maximum and that has been incredibly notable from Scottish international McGinn.
The Villa Park ever-present hasn’t looked the same force he’s been all season long for the past few Aston Villa games now, with his performance levels dropping considerably.
After two goals and one assist from five games throughout December, the last three or four games have been particularly uneventful for the Scotsman which could lead to Emery making a surprise axe call.
As per SofaScore, against Manchester United, McGinn registered two key passes, completed just 50 per cent of his two dribble attempts, completed just one of his four crosses, lost possession of the ball 23 times and won just three of his 13 ground duels at a torrid 23 per cent.
Against Burnley on 30 December, as per SofaScore, McGinn successfully won just five of his 12 ground duel attempts, won two of his seven aerial duel attempts, registered just one key pass, lost possession of the ball 13 times, and completed just over 70 per cent of his passes whilst also being dribbled past twice.
In the narrow FA Cup win over Middlesbrough on 6 January it was a similar theme but one which could be argued was particularly worse from the Scotsman.
The Scot was limited to just 29 touches, as per FotMob, against Boro at Riverside Stadium – night and day between his average of 48.4 touches in the Premier League this season, as per Sofascore.
It cannot be ignored how well Carrick was able to diminish the 29-year-old’s impact on the match with 38 per cent possession, with many spotting him failing to get on the ball in Middlesbrough’s tightly-packed midfield.
Without the possession on his side, McGinn was forced to fend for himself. He only won 25 per cent of his ground duels (2/8), lost 100 per cent of his tackles and was dispossessed twice.
McGinn as has been the case this season, was entrusted to continue to hold down the left flank at Goodison Park against Everton but surprisingly failed with the task, a display which will have Emery increasingly panicking.
The former Hibernian man failed to register a single key pass, won 50 per cent of his total duels, and lost possession of the ball 17 times whilst completing 84 per cent of his passes before being subbed off in the 89th minute.
Whether it’s down to tiredness and fatigue or just a rare unfruitful patch for McGinn is uncertain but the stats from recent displays don’t make for good reading and highlight a player undergoing a downward spiral.
Even the best players suffer from a drop in performance levels and influence but given McGinn’s undeniable ability to rise up amidst a tough spell and always deliver a disciplined and hard-working display, those characteristics have been too far and in between since the turn of the year.
With Villa next in action against Chelsea in the FA Cup on 26 January, the Scotsman will be delighted and boosted by the considerable rest but it won’t be a surprise to see Emery wield the axe and take him out of the firing line at Stamford Bridge.
In other Aston Villa news, a star player has justified his British record price tag already this season.