John McGinn in ‘painful’ Aston Villa situation after what Sky Sports pundit saw
Stiliyan Petrov has defended Aston Villa captain John McGinn for the sacrifices that he has made for the club.
The 30-year-old has zero goal contributions in nine Premier League games this season but scored in both Scotland matches on international duty.
However, former Villans midfielder Petrov thinks that the criticism directed towards the former St Mirren man is unjustified.
He told Gambling.com that while McGinn could contribute more, he understands that as captain he has to put aside personal performance goals for the benefit of the team, saying: “John [McGinn] is a great human being, a great footballer and a great captain. He leads the team in a perfect way. I do think John can show even more. He’s got the potential to show more; score more goals, have more assists.
“This is what I expect from John, because he’s got the capability to do it. But what I’ve seen, especially in the recent months, is that he does sacrifice some of his game to help others and act as a good captain. Sometimes people don’t see that.
“But I watch pretty much every game and I do see it. Sometimes it’s painful for the player, but when you’re a captain you have to sacrifice, and he certainly does that.”
John McGinn can pull Aston Villa out of poor run
Villa are winless in their last five matches, with their last victory coming in the Champions League against Bologna on 22 October.
Unai Emery will be hoping that the Scot can bring his national team form back to Villa Park and inspire the team to start winning again.
International breaks can often disrupt a player’s good run of form however in this case it might spark the Villans most important player back into the kind of form that he needs to be in.
McGinn was crucial last campaign when the club qualified for the Champions League notching ten goal contributions in the Premier League compared to zero so far this season.
Unai Emery needs his captain to step up and ensure that the team can fulfil their full potential and ensure the feelgood around their return does not diminish anytime soon.
The Scottish international will have the chance to start his redemption when Villa host Crystal Palace on Saturday 23 November.
In other Aston Villa news, an ex-Villa star has made an unbelievable admission after what’s happened in recent weeks.
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