That Tottenham game was billed as the biggest in the club’s recent history, not by the Aston Villa fans or manager Unai Emery, but by John McGinn himself.
So, to lose the game 4-0 and end up getting sent off, well, things can’t really get much worse, can they!?
Either way, a lot has been made of that John McGinn challenge on Destiny Udogie, which received a straight red and was then backed up by VAR.
But days after that game, Gabby Agbonlahor is still adamant that it was a ‘yellow card’ challenge from the Aston Villa skipper, as he told talkSPORT.
The former striker vented his frustration and expressed how ‘football has gone soft’ by adding that the 29-year-old didn’t have any intention to hurt the Tottenham defender.
What probably didn’t help John McGinn’s cause is the challenge happened right in front of the Spurs bench.
Their reaction just made matters worse and probably only resulted in the inevitable happening and that’s the red card being shown.
John McGinn’s red card
“When you watch the game, Aston Villa were getting popped and Spurs were playing very, very well,” said Agbonlahor.
“Our formation, putting an extra defender in there, for me, was wrong. But Unai Emery, whatever he says, goes. He has been outstanding for Aston Villa.
“But John McGinn was there. He was everywhere, he was pressing, having little fouls and he was on it. Some of his teammates weren’t pressing as much as him, so he has got frustrated. You are 2-0 down and you think this is a game you want to win, of course.
“He has gone to kick both of his legs together. We have seen it happen so many times in football, where someone is running at you and you think ‘you know what, I am going to boot one of his leg, hits the other leg and he goes over’. It’s a yellow card and take one for the team.
“He hasn’t gone to hurt him. He has probably overdone it a little bit. But I still don’t think it’s a red card. In Premier League history, that’s a yellow card. Football has gone soft. John McGinn has played 458 games in the Scottish leagues, Championship and Premier League. He has only had one red card. This isn’t like Casemiro who gets sent off once every few months.”
John McGinn’s three-match ban
If the defeat to Spurs wasn’t bad enough, now McGinn is going to be out of action for three Premier League games.
West Ham United away at the weekend, then after the international break at home to Wolves and away at Manchester City.
These are some very tricky matches and Unai Emery will have to think about how to deal with it all.
With Boubacar Kamara previously out with an ACL injury, Villa are already light when it comes to defensive bite in the middle of the park, so it’s crucial we grind ourselves to wins here.
