Aston Villa seems to have a penalty issue following their failure to convert in the last outing, which might concern Unai Emery. 

Aston Villa failed to pick up another home win on the weekend following their tie against Fulham. They could have won it if the captain John McGinn was able to score from the penalty spot but his shot only hit the goal frame. 

It is probably just the first time this season but when the third executor in the team and captain misses the penalty, it feels like there is something Emery should worry about. It could be a potential issue in the future. McGinn was the one who took the penalty as Emi Buendia and Ross Barkley, the top two takers were not in the line up, whereas Nicolas Jackson is not yet considered as the main executor. 

Villa certainly can not take this matter lightly as missing one penalty in the big game could cost the match result as well as the team’s form. Thus, Emery needs to decide the top penalty takers apart from Buendia and Barkley. Here are the ideal top four takers after those two senior players. 

Johan Manzambi

The Swiss youngster seems to be the proper next executor in the order. During his career, he has yet missed a single penalty. Manzambi has netted four times from the spot. Yet, all of them were not at the senior level, but in the youth level. 

His last penalty goal was in March 2025 when Switzerland U21 shared spoils with England U20 in a 2-2 draw. He has got all the potential but he needs to be trained intensively for the set piece, penalty included. 

John McGinn

The skipper still deserves to be included, although he has taken more penalty kicks at the international stage. McGinn never failed with Scotland in two games, against Norway in EURO 2024 qualifiers and most recently versus North Macedonia in UEFA Nations League last month. 

His failure last weekend was the first at the club level. McGinn definitely needs to practice more on penalties as he is expected to be reliable as the team’s senior figure. 

Ibrahim Mbaye

Mbaye is another potential taker who can be trained. He has scored twice from penalty so far, even though they both were not at the senior level. The Senegalese’ last one was in March 2025 when he was still playing for PSG U21. It was a match versus Lens U21. 

Leon Goretzka and Nicolas Jackson

The German midfielder is certainly another one to consider, if he is going to play more regularly. He has taken five penalties so far in his career but only managed to score three of them. His last one was already a while ago in 2017/18 when he was still playing for Schalke. It was in the Bundesliga win over Hertha Berlin. 

Last but not least, Nicolas Jackson should be prepared to be one of the main takers. The problem is he has only taken one penalty in his career. It was against South Sudan in October 2025 in the World Cup qualifier. The former Chelsea man needs to be trained intensively for it as he is expected to be the main scorer in the team.