Aston Villa captain John McGinn hopes Philippe Coutinho can now prove why he is ‘world-class’ after scoring against Arsenal. He also feels the midfielder earned a start on Saturday.
The Brazilian returned to the Villans’ starting line-up for the first time since October 10 for Arsenal’s visit to Birmingham. Coutinho would also restore Aston Villa’s lead at 2-1 with his first goal in any competition this season. But he would not stop the Gunners from winning.
Coutinho has endured a disappointing season since completing a permanent transfer from Barcelona last May for £17m. Steven Gerrard sought to retain the playmaker following his loan spell, which included a £33m buy option. But he struggled to justify the Villans’ move.
Saturday’s 4-2 affair was Coutinho’s 22nd appearance for Aston Villa in all competitions so far this term. Yet he has now offered just one goal and has no assists through 916 minutes of action. The 69-cap international has further only started in nine of his outings this term.
Just seven of his starts have come during Coutinho’s 20 Premier League appearances, too. While Unai Emery had not included the £125k-a-week playmaker in any of his top-flight XIs since replacing Gerrard in November before turning to the 30-year-old at home to Arsenal.
McGinn hopes Coutinho can now prove his critics wrong at Aston Villa
McGinn believes Coutinho earned a rare start against Arsenal having impressed the Aston Villa captain in recent weeks. The Scotland midfielder appreciated the Brazilian’s efforts in training at Bodymoor Heath and as a substitute away to Manchester City on February 12.
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“He’s had a lot of criticism but that comes with being a world-class player,” McGinn said, via quotes by Birmingham Live. “In training in the past few weeks and when he came on against City, he’s earned his start and has been doing really well.
“It was a phenomenal finish. He’s been through a lot in the last few months so I hope he’s starting to find a bit of form.”
Emery introduced Coutinho with 14 minutes left at Manchester City and saw him fashion a few goalscoring opportunities. The Rio de Janeiro native went close to scoring with a long-range drive and nearly created late chances for Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran to take shots.
Coutinho may have done enough during his 62 minutes against Arsenal to retain a starting role against Everton. The Villans travel to the relegation-threatened Toffees on Saturday in search of a first win in four fixtures. It is Emery’s worst run of results since he took charge.
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