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Although the Gunners trail by 2-1, they took home the away goal advantage thanks to Nicolas Pepe’s spot-kick in the 73rd minute.
A place in the Europa League final is at stake as Arsenal and Villarreal lock horns at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
The second leg will also be intriguing for the Arsenal fans as their former manager Unai Emery returns to the Emirates for the first time since his dismissal in 2019.
Arsenal have had a dreadful domestic season that saw them struggle to stay in the top half of the Premier League. So Mikel Arteta would love to see off the remaining four league games as early as possible and solely focus on the Europa League leg semifinal. The Gunners somehow managed to escape a battering at the hand so their former gaffer in the previous leg – falling behind two goals in the first half while Dani Ceballos was sent off 10 minutes after the interval. But the North London team soldiered on, and Nicolas Pepe gave his side an important away goal from the penalty spot moments later. Arsenal head to the second tie following their comfortable 2-0 win against Newcastle United on Sunday with goals from Mohamed Elneny and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese international finally found the net after seven goalless games, and his return to form will undeniably give the Gunners fans and Arteta a ray of hope for their most crucial game of the season on Thursday night.
Villarreal also recorded a win in their fixture against Getafe in La Liga, and are on a hunt to defend their slender lead in the return leg. Unai Emery rested several of his first-team starters in their 1-0 win over Getafe and will certainly field his best possible eleven against Arsenal. Already leading with two important goals, Villarreal would simply have to sit out Arteta’s men for the remaining 90 minutes in order to proceed to the final. But the Yellow Submarines will be missing the services of centre-back Juan Foyth – one of the standout performers in the reverse fixture and the suspended Etienne Capoue. In attack, Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno are expected to lead the line, and should Arsenal equalize within the first hour, Villarreal could look to wrap up the tie with their rapid and lethal counters.
Key Players
Buakyo Saka: The young winger has burst onto the scene with his high-quality dribbling and close control, which allows him to run past the defenders quite easily before creating chances for his teammates. The 19-year-old has scored seven and assisted nine more in 41 appearances in all competitions – a tally that looks exciting for a teenager. A constant thorn for the opposition defence, Saka averages 2.1 shots, and 1.5 dribbles per game and his quick movement usually end up in set pieces for his team.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: The 31-year-old Gabon forward scored the Gunners’ second goal in their recent victory over Newcastle. It was his first start since contracting malaria while on international duty in March and could now play a significant role in Thursday night’s fixture against the Spanish outfit. Even in his ‘worst’ season, Aubameyang found the net on 15 occasions in 35 overall appearances. Ten of those were scored in the Premier League, and without a doubt he has to play all 90 minutes on Thursday.
Gerard Moreno: Apart from being a lethal centre-forward Gerard Moreno has improved massively as a dribbler turning him into one of La Liga’s best. Coming off from his 18 goals in the previous campaign, the 29-year-old has scored 26 times in 40 overall appearances so far.
And with Paco Alcacer playing the role of a second striker behind him, Moreno has found the freedom to play as a spearhead which in turn has been Emery’s key source of goals.
Dani Parejo: The former Valencia great took his form to La Ceramica and has cemented his position in Emery’s eleven with his tenacious performance in the midfield. The presence of Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Fabregas, Silva and Cazorla in the national setup compromised Parejo’s career, and the 32-year-old has slipped under the radar of top Premier League teams on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, the Spaniard still turns up for his side every week and racks up 75.2 passes with 90.4% accuracy per match. His defensive efforts are beyond decent as he makes 1.8 tackles with 1.3 interceptions even at his twilight.
Prediction
The Gunners are still alive in the tie with their vital away goal in Spain as scoring a single goal in the second leg would take them to Gdansk later this month. Mikel Arteta’s team have scored at least once in 12 games out of a possible 13 matches in this season’s Europa League and that they are extremely likely to deploy an offensive style in order to bring themselves back into this game.
Villarreal have won all of their Europa League knockout stage matches and will surely capitalize on the opportunities through counter-attacks to secure an away goal of their own. The Yellow Submarines scored at least two goals in six of their last seven European games and are known for their pacey forwards. Although finishing the job against Arsenal is undoubtedly their hardest challenge yet, given the recent form and squad quality they boast, Villarreal under Emery will surely have the last laugh at Emirates.
