After back-to-back man-of-the-match performances against Everton and Crystal Palace, John McGinn is finally starting to look back to his old self.

Since the arrival of Unai Emery, McGinn has mostly been playing in a more advanced position off the right and he appears to be growing in confidence in that role with every passing week. Two years ago it would have been hard to see him as anything other than an all-action box-to-box menace of a central midfielder, but with a system that favours deeper holding players in that area of the pitch and the excellent form of Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz, McGinn has had to adapt.

Perhaps the biggest adjustment as a fan watching him now is just how much less involved he is in the game than he used to be, while being far more effective when he does get the ball. Against Everton he had fewer touches than any other outfield player but still managed to win a penalty for the first goal, set up the second and win man-of-the-match.

The role he plays for Villa now is similar to the one he’s been playing for Scotland in recent years, so it’s not as if McGinn is learning a new position altogether. In fact there have been calls from many Villa fans to see him pushed further forward because of his impressive international form, and the frustration that he’s been unable to replicate that at club level.

Because he’s so synonymous with his physical, hustling style, it’s often easy to forget what a talented and skillful footballer McGinn is. This is something he’s had to convince himself of too since promotion in 2019 and he credits Dean Smith with bringing this out of his game:

“If you thought I could play further forward a few years ago, I’d have laughed. I probably got sucked into the idea in Scotland that I was just a rat and a runner, but Dean has given me the confidence to get involved higher up the park and I’m enjoying it.”

There have been notable examples of this skill and vision in recent weeks. His intricate assist at Tottenham for Douglas Luiz and his defence-splitting ball through to Matty Cash for the goal against Crystal Palace last weekend were reminders of his ability on the ball. Importantly though, he hasn’t lost any of the drive and tenacity we all know and love him for either.

Defending a corner against Crystal Palace, he picked the ball up on the edge of his own penalty area and carried the ball down the line 40-50 yards, riding challenges and putting his arse in the way of anyone that dared come near him. It was reminiscent of his lung-busting run in injury time to see out the 3 points against Blackburn in the 10-match winning run in the Championship in 2019 and it brought a similarly rousing reaction from the Villa Park crowd as it did then.

It’s terrific to see McGinn finding form again, not least because there are fewer better human beings to have played for our club (“I love John McGinn” is about the only thing Steven Gerrard said which I agreed with). After a 46 game wait, all that’s missing from his game now is a goal. Here’s hoping the goggle eyes celebration makes a return on Sunday.