John McGinn has been speaking to BT Sport after Aston Villa suffered a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Villa Park in the Premier League.
The Scotland international gave his assessment of the game, in which he made a couple of claims about the Gunners.
What’s the story?
Well, McGinn felt Arsenal were the dominant side in the first half, and believes they were very comfortable in possession.
Of course, that’s not what Steven Gerrard had hoped to see from his side.
As quoted by BBC Sport, McGinn said: “It is disappointing. The first half was frustrating. Arsenal were comfortable on the ball and it took us far too long to get involved in the game.
“We weren’t good enough on or off the ball and showed Arsenal too much respect. We had words at half time to be more aggressive, to get after them more. We want to be where West Ham are, that is the target and it is about sticking on the same page.”
Clearly, the 27-year-old wasn’t entirely pleased with how the Villans performed today.
In truth, it just wasn’t to be. Ollie Watkins saw an effort hit the post, and on another day, the Villans maybe come away with a point.
It’s also interesting to hear McGinn mention West Ham in terms of where Aston Villa are trying to get to.
Evidently, David Moyes and the Hammers are proving to be an inspiration for those outside of the Premier League’s top six.
Arsenal showed fight against Aston Villa
Whatever Mikel Arteta has done to Arsenal behind the scenes, it’s certainly starting to work.
For years, the Gunners have been known as a soft side, who lack resilience and fight when times get tough.
However, they were under the cosh in the second half, but stuck together to grind out their sixth Premier League win in seven games.
At this rate, Arsenal will definitely be returning to the Champions League next season – the European nights under the lights look likely to return.
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