The second leg of this UEFA Europa League semi-final is fascinatingly poised as Arsenal, looking for a second ultimate look in three seasons, host Villarreal needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit, the Spanish facet having ended the Gunners’ competitors document run of 12 away video games with out defeat with their eighth successive European victory within the first leg in Spain. Adding to the intrigue is the return to north London of ex-Gunners head coach Unai Emery.
• Arsenal claimed most factors within the autumn from UEFA Europa League Group B, doing the double over Rapid Wien, Dundalk and fellow qualifiers Molde earlier than eliminating Benfica (1-1 a, 3-2 h), Olympiacos (3-1 a, 0-1 h) and, within the quarter-finals, Slavia Praha (1-1 h, 4-0 a). With 33 objectives scored, they’re the top-scoring workforce on this season’s UEFA Europa League.
• Villarreal cruised to first place in UEFA Europa League Group I forward of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Sivasspor and Qarabağ to achieve the spherical of 32 for the eighth time earlier than comfortably disposing of UEFA Champions League group stage members Salzburg (2-0 a, 2-1 h) and Dynamo Kyiv (2-0 a, 2-0 h) after which additionally successful each quarter-final matches towards Dinamo Zagreb (1-0 a, 2-1 h).
Previous meetings
• Villarreal regarded to have taken a decisive benefit within the tie when first-half objectives from Manu Trigueros and Raúl Albiol have been supplemented by the 57th-minute sending-off of Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos. However, the Gunners fought again to cut back the deficit by a Nicolas Pépé penalty earlier than Villarreal additionally went down to 10 males following the dismissal of Étienne Capoue ten minutes from time. It was Villarreal’s first win over Arsenal in 5 makes an attempt.
• The golf equipment have been paired twice beforehand, on every event within the UEFA Champions League knockout part, with Arsenal prevailing in each ties.
• The first assembly was within the 2005/06 semi-final, Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal defeating Manuel Pellegrini’s Villarreal 1-0 within the first leg at Highbury – within the membership’s ultimate dwelling European encounter on the stadium – due to a Kolo Touré strike, earlier than drawing the return 0-0 in Spain. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved a late penalty from Juan Román Riquelme to take the Gunners into their first – and as but solely – European Cup ultimate, which they’d lose 2-1 to Barcelona.
• Three years later the golf equipment met once more, with the identical managers, within the quarter-finals, and as soon as extra the English facet have been victorious, Wenger’s facet drawing the primary leg 1-1 earlier than cruising to a 3-0 dwelling win. The Gunners have subsequently gained each previous dwelling video games towards Villarreal with out conceding.
• Those two campaigns stay Villarreal’s sole ventures into the UEFA Champions League knockout part. They have been additionally defeated by English opposition on their final look within the UEFA Europa League semi-finals, going out to Liverpool in 2015/16 (1-0 h, 0-3 a), which made their all-time document towards Premier League opposition in two-legged UEFA ties W1 L3. The solely victory got here within the first of these, towards Everton within the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying spherical (2-1 a, 2-1 h).
• Arsenal, in distinction, gained their most up-to-date UEFA Europa League semi-final towards Spanish opponents, Emery overseeing a snug combination win over his former membership Valencia in 2018/19 (3-1 h, 4-2 a). Twelve months earlier Wenger’s Gunners had been eradicated on the similar stage of the competitors by one other Liga facet, Atlético de Madrid, who drew 1-1 in London earlier than successful 1-0 within the Spanish capital.
• Arsenal have gained solely 12 of their 36 UEFA fixtures towards Spanish opposition, their 16 defeats together with three in finals – within the European Cup Winners’ Cup towards Valencia (1979/80) and Real Zaragoza (1994/95) in addition to that loss to Barcelona within the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League decider. Their total document in two-legged ties towards Spanish groups, nevertheless, is W6 L5.
• The Gunners have gained 9 of their 16 dwelling video games in UEFA competitors towards Spanish guests (D4 L3), together with the newest, towards Valencia within the first leg of that 2018/19 semi-final.
• Villarreal’s total document towards English golf equipment is W5 D6 L5. In England it’s W1 D2 L4, that 2-1 victory at Everton on their first go to remaining their solely success. Indeed they’ve failed to attain in all however a type of six subsequent matches within the nation.
Form information
Arsenal
• Eighth within the 2019/20 Premier League, Arsenal ensured a twenty fifth consecutive season in Europe by successful the FA Cup beneath new supervisor Mikel Arteta – the membership’s document 14th triumph within the competitors – with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea within the ultimate. Their third successive UEFA Europa League marketing campaign was ended within the spherical of 32 by Olympiacos.
• UEFA Champions League ever-presents for 19 seasons in a row from 1998/99 to 2016/17, Arsenal reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals on the first try in 2017/18, shedding to eventual winners Atlético, earlier than going one step additional and making it to the 2018/19 ultimate, the place they have been defeated 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku. They have been group winners on all 4 UEFA Europa League appearances – an unprecedented feat – and this season turned the eleventh workforce within the competitors to high their part with most factors due to wins towards Rapid (2-1 a, 4-1 h), Dundalk (3-0 h, 4-2 a) and Molde (4-1 h, 3-0 a).
• Arsenal’s document in UEFA Europa League semi-finals is W1 L1 because of these two contrasting ties towards Spanish opposition in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
• The Gunners’ total UEFA Europa League dwelling document, together with the win towards Benfica in impartial Piraeus within the spherical of 32, is W16 D4 L4. They have, nevertheless, didn’t win any of their final three knockout part matches on the Arsenal Stadium, shedding twice to Olympiacos earlier than the quarter-final first-leg draw towards Slavia.
• Arsenal have gained solely 4 of the 14 UEFA competitors ties by which they have been defeated away within the first leg, although they have been triumphant within the two most up-to-date – each within the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League, towards BATE Borisov within the spherical of 32 (0-1 a, 3-0 h) and Rennes within the spherical of 16 (1-3 a, 3-0 h). They have additionally gained the final two of the three ties by which they misplaced the primary away leg 2-1, most lately overcoming Porto with a 5-0 second-leg win within the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League spherical of 16.
Villarreal
• Villarreal completed fifth within the 2019/20 Spanish Liga to return to Europe after a season’s absence and take part within the UEFA Europa League group stage for a record-equalling eighth time.
• The Spanish membership have by no means completed exterior the highest two of their eight group campaigns, going by as part winners 4 instances, together with this season as Emery’s facet gained Group I at a canter, scoring 12 objectives in successful their first three matches earlier than sealing first place with a 1-0 win at Sivasspor on Matchday 5.
• Villarreal have misplaced each of their previous two UEFA Europa League semi-final ties, taking place to eventual winners Porto in 2010/11 (1-5 a, 3-2 h) earlier than that 2015/16 defeat towards Liverpool. The membership have by no means reached a significant European ultimate.
• Villarreal are unbeaten of their final 11 UEFA Europa League matches exterior Spain (W7 D4), this season’s away fixtures bringing wins in Turkey towards Qarabağ (3-1) and Sivasspor, a 1-1 draw towards Maccabi Tel-Aviv, these 2-0 successes in Salzburg and Kyiv and, final trip, that 1-0 win in Zagreb. They have stored clear sheets in all of their final 4 away video games within the competitors.
• Villarreal’s final defeats on this competitors have been within the 2018/19 quarter-final towards native rivals Valencia (1-3 h, 0-2 a); they’re now undefeated by non-Spanish opposition in 22 European matches (W16 D6) together with all 12 this season.
• The final UEFA tie by which Villarreal gained the primary leg at dwelling was that 2015/16 UEFA Europa League semi-final towards Liverpool. That is the one one of many 15 ties the Spanish membership have misplaced after travelling to the away fixture with a first-leg lead. On the one two previous events that they gained the primary dwelling leg 2-1, UEFA Europa League encounters with Salzburg within the 2014/15 spherical of 32 and Sparta Praha within the 2015/16 quarter-final, additionally they gained the return fixtures, 3-1 in Austria and 4-2 within the Czech Republic.
Links and trivia
• Trigueros’s subsequent look within the UEFA Europa League, group stage to ultimate, shall be his fiftieth, the previous 49 having all been for Villarreal. Only three different gamers – Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg), Markel Susaeta (Athletic Club) and Senad Lulić (Lazio) – have reached the half-century within the competitors with a single membership.
• Emery changed long-serving Arsenal boss Wenger in May 2018 and remained in cost for 18 months earlier than being dismissed and in the end changed by his fellow Basque native Arteta.
• Emery has overseen 91 matches within the UEFA Europa League correct – 31 greater than some other coach. He led Sevilla to all three of their trophy successes from 2013/14 to 2015/16 earlier than shedding that 2018/19 ultimate with Arsenal.
• San Sebastián-born Arteta began out with Barcelona’s youth workforce however the one Spanish Liga facet he performed for was hometown membership Real Sociedad, in 2004/05.
• Villarreal midfielder Francis Coquelin was on Arsenal’s books from 2008 to 2018, making 160 appearances for the membership in all competitions and successful two FA Cups.
• There are three Spaniards in Arsenal’s squad – Héctor Bellerín, Pablo Marí and Dani Ceballos. The latter is on an prolonged mortgage to the membership from Spanish champions Real Madrid, as is Norwegian worldwide Martin Ødegaard.
• Ceballos and Villarreal’s Alfonso Pedraza have been members of Spain’s 2019 UEFA Under-21 European Championship-winning squad.
• Thomas Partey joined Arsenal in October 2020 from Atlético, for whom he made 188 appearances in all competitions, scoring 16 objectives, and was a UEFA Europa League winner in 2017/18. He additionally performed in Spain for Mallorca and Almería.
• Juan Foyth is at the moment on mortgage to Villarreal from Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, whereas Capoue – suspended for this match – is one other former Spur who joined the Spanish membership in January after 5 and a half seasons with Watford.
• Alberto Moreno was a Premier League participant with Liverpool (2014–19), whereas his Villarreal team-mate Ramiro Funes Mori performed with Merseyside rivals Everton (2015–18). Dani Parejo spent 2008/09 on mortgage at Queens Park Rangers within the English Championship.
• Villarreal have performed extra matches within the UEFA Europa League, group stage to ultimate, than some other membership. This is their 87th encounter – 13 greater than second-placed Salzburg.
• The 27 objectives scored by Villarreal this season have lifted their all-time complete within the competitors to a document 151, 22 greater than Liga rivals Sevilla, with 100 conceded. They additionally maintain the document for many UEFA Europa League wins (49), seven greater than Sevilla.
• Arsenal are the highest-scoring English membership within the UEFA Europa League with 109 objectives – six greater than Tottenham.
Penalty shoot-outs
• Villarreal’s document in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-3 v Torino, 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup third spherical
3-1 v Atlético de Madrid, 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup ultimate
• Arsenal’s document in 4 UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
4-5 v Valencia, 1979/80 European Cup Winners’ Cup ultimate
3-2 v Sampdoria, 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final
1-4 v Galatasaray, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup ultimate
7-6 v Roma, 2008/09 UEFA Champions League spherical of 16
