Unai Emery reveals which Aston Villa hero has the perfect 'spirit'
Unai Emery wants every Villa player to follow the lead of John McGinn after saluting the skipper’s spirit.
McGinn added another memorable chapter to his Villa career with an excellent performance and goal in Tuesday’s heroic Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain.
Emery says the Scotland international’s attitude epitomises everything he wants in a player.
The Villa boss said: “I am very happy with his spirit in the dressing room. He is really a very important player as a captain and as well, he is always ready to play in the starting XI.
“Even the last matches on the bench as a substitute player last week he scored one goal, on Tuesday he scored again. He is being very positive in the dressing room for the spirit I want.”
McGinn is Villa’s longest serving player having joined from Hibernian for just £2.5million in 2018, playing a key role in the club’s journey from the Championship to the Champions League.
And he has continued to excel under Emery, who said: “He is himself. He is getting the challenge we are trying to set in the club and in the squad with the players.
“He is developing since we arrived here, more or less in this direction. He is getting his own challenges to play at this level.
“But he’s him. It’s himself in how he is doing and showing. We are being very demanding about how we can get to this level, how we can be consistent playing and improving players, improving the club in our demands and objectives
“He is doing every step forward we are trying to set. He is doing it.”
