“His energy, his capacity to hold up the ball, his ability to keep the ball in possession” – as if to illustrate his point, Unai Emery patted his back pocket, rather in the manner of an old advert for a popular supermarket.
Any Aston Villa fan entering the radio interview room in this moment, and seeing this probably subconscious motion, would instantly have realised who the head coach was talking about.
For the second time in less than 72 hours, John McGinn had scored a goal to set Villa on course for an important win. “After it, we could get more passes and we could get in the attacking third better or easier through him,” Emery added.
Most analysis of McGinn’s contribution to Villa tends to focus on his personal qualities, as a leader of men and apparently inexhaustible supplier of energy, not to mention his trademark method of rolling round opponents.
That is all undoubtedly true, but it can obscure the other reason why he has remained a fundamental part of this team, as it moves up the levels with Emery: McGinn is no mere labourer, he is just as much a craftsman.
His technical ability was demonstrated once again by the precise finish he applied to an elegant free-kick routine.
With 67 minutes gone, McGinn took his leave to allow for another reassuring sight: the return of Youri Tielemans. Of the 11 first-team games he missed during his recent spell of injury, Villa won only four of them – three of which were in the Europa League. McGinn was also missing for eight of those matches.
It’s no wonder then that Tielemans was cheered to the echo before he had even taken to the field at Villa Park.
“That reception is what you want as a player,” Tielemans said post-match. “To be recognised like that, it’s great to see.” It must be because, like McGinn, Tielemans was soon gliding along.
A 25-minute pipe-opener against a subdued West Ham made for an ideal shift to dial himself back in.
The nervousness felt around Villa Park in recent weeks had gone by then. The band were coming back together and starting to play the hits. Spring has sprung in B6.
Ollie Watkins perhaps challenged his England national team omission, showing that he still has the instincts of a top striker by scoring a goal that was all instinct.
Villa’s two paths to success this season will both still be clear when they reconvene after this international break.
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