Unai Emery discusses Aston Villa penalty takers following Marco Asensio misses | OneFootball

For someone as great as Marco Asensio has been for Aston Villa, missing two pens in the 3-0 win over Southampton is the only area that fans can point to to critique. Aaron Ramsdale stepped up and guessed right twice for the Saints. Even with John McGinn knocking in the rebound attempt, the fact remains that the Spanish midfielder had two opportunities to convert from the spot and couldn't get one in the back of the net.

Speaking after Saturday's Premier League match, as shared by the Athletic's Jacob Tanswell on X, the Villa boss spoke on who would be the takers moving forward. He mentioned that Marcus Rashford is the first option, followed by Asensio. Considering Rashford had just been subbed off only moments before the first one, the Spaniard getting the first crack at the penalty makes sense.

After that first miss, Emery then went on to mention that the late take in stoppage time was about an element of revenge for Asensio. This too is a valid thought process behind picking who should step up. After missing one from the spot, the player who missed will automatically feel that they could have done better.

Especially if the keeper makes a play. It is an incredible save either way, as the advantage is entirely with the person shooting. This only further frustrates the player who missed their chance at what should be something of an automatic goal.

Rashford remains top PK choice for Aston Villa

The AVFC boss would not go further on if Asensio would be given the chance to redeem himself in future fixtures. Instead, he maintained that Rashford would be the first choice in that regard. Depending on how the pack is shuffled on any given day, there could be an additional opportunity for the 29-year-old to make up for the Southampton misses.

Going too far with criticisms, though, is harsh. They weren't good takes, and obviously, as Ramsdale can attest, they were savable. For Aston Villa's March Player of the Month, he's done everything else right since arriving from PSG. At the moment, his confidence from the spot is shaky. If needed, however, there shouldn't be too much doubt that Asensio would be able to shrug Saturday's attempts off and convert when AVFC need it the most.