Is the feel good factor back at the Emirates Stadium?
A 3-1 Europa League semi-final first leg win over Valencia on Thursday certainly put the smiles back on the faces of Arsenal fans. The Gunners take the advantage with them to Spain for the second leg next week, where they will be hoping to make the progress to the final of the competition.
But, before that, it is back to league action for Unai Emery's men, as they look to halt a run of three straight defeats. The latest being a 3-0 loss to Leicester at the King Power Stadium, a game where the Gunners had goalkeeper Bernd Leno to thank for not conceding more.
Koscielny, Mavropanos, Torreira - Arsenal team news and probable XI vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Arsenal have been struggling on the road lately, so will be thankful of home comforts when they host Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. A win could put them back into contention for a top four finish with just one game left to play.
Take a look below for the latest news from the Emirates in the last 24 hours.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos's message following Valencia victory
It was a good night at the Emirates on Thursday night, as despite falling behind in the first half, Arsenal fought back to take a 3-1 lead into the second leg of the Europa League semi-final. A brace from Alexandre Lacazette was topped off my an injury time goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But there is one summer signing who insists he is not keen on playing in the Europa League again next season. Speaking to football.london Sokratis Papastathopoulos says he joined the club to play Champions League football.
"The manager tries every day to give the best to us, the team and firstly we want to to play in the Champions League," said the defender following the victory against Valencia. "Of course I came here because I would like to play in the Champions League.
"I didn't come here to play in the Europa League.
"This is the point, our manager and the staff behind him help us every day, we work a lot with the training, the video, we analyse everything and I hope in the end we are right."
Read the full quotes from the Arsenal centre back HERE.
Left wing target's agent speaks out
The agent of Arsenal's left wing target Leandro Trossard has been speaking about his client's next possible move, and has admitted that it could be to the Gunners.
Speaking to Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad (via TeamTalk), Josy Comhair, the agent of the 24-year-old Genk player has said that both Germany and England are summer options for his client.
“There is no agreement with any club yet. But I think that Germany is a beautiful country for him. You can take it one step higher via Germany,” he said.
Aubameyang follows Ozil's footsteps, Emery's Guendouzi call: Arsenal vs Valencia talking points
“Because with Arsenal you are immediately at the highest level and you can almost only go down. But yes, it can also be Arsenal.”
The Belgian has impressed as captain of Genk this season, scoring 11 times and providing four assists in the Belgian top division so far this season.
Valencia boss on Arsenal
Valencia boss Marcelino has been talking after his side's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in the first leg of the clubs' Europa League semi-final tie.
The opposition manager insisted that his side did not deserve to lose by a two goal margin, and it was the Gunners' clinical finishing that won them the game, while also making clear that his side can still turn the tie around.
"The result has been excessive," he told reporters. "They [Arsenal] have been very decisive.
"They had more success and effectiveness, we hope to have that little bit of luck and success in the return.
"In the 90th minute we had a very good result, not the best, but in an isolated action it came to 3-1.
"In many phases we had the control and we held Arsenal. I, from the bench, did not see my team in trouble. We adapted well to the system.
"We scored a goal away from home and at Mestalla we can hurt them. The tie is not decided and with our people we are going to make things difficult for Arsenal.
The UEFA rule change that means fourth is no different to third for Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs
"It puts us in a more complicated situation, but in no case takes away from our minds that we can go to the final, this helps us to believe in ourselves and to believe that we can win."
Arsenal next face Valencia in the second leg on Thursday 9th May.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
