John McGinn revelled in a fantastic week for Aston Villa after they saw off Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday.
A pair of 1-0 victories in the space of four days at home against title chasers Manchester City and the Gunners keep Villa flying high in the Premier League table.
And the club captain was delighted that they ground out the three points despite not playing to their maximum levels.
“It probably wasn’t our best performance, but in the first 15 to 20 minutes, we were outstanding,” he said.
“Over the piece, the tiredness from the past two weeks started to kick in and there were some dead bodies out there – me included – but it was an absolutely monumental effort.
“It wasn’t pretty at times but they’re a great side. What a week.”
After McGinn’s early goal, Arsenal grew into the game and exerted a lot of pressure on the hosts.
It took a tremendous team effort to keep the Gunners at bay, a fact which wasn’t lost on the Scotsman.
He said: “A big shout to all the boys who came on, it’s not easy coming into a game like that. Arsenal have scored a lot of late goals this season, so we had to be switched on and really concentrate.
“They gave us a scare with the goal and thankfully that decision went in our favour. It’s a huge win but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground.
“These teams are used to being up and around there and we’re not. We need to try and manage the games as best we can going into a really busy spell.
“We’re losing Lucas and Dougie next week going into a tough game against Brentford. Our away form’s not been as bad as some people make out but it’s certainly to be improved. Hopefully next week we can do that.”
