Arsenal are two wins away from Europa League glory.
The Gunners will head to the Mestalla next Thursday for the semi-final second leg against Valencia with a two-goal advantage following a 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Following three straight defeats in the Premier League, a sequence of results which have dented their top four hopes, beating the La Liga outfit was certainly the perfect response.
Every word from Unai Emery on Koscielny, Guendouzi, Lacazette and the second leg vs Valencia
But how did the players get on?
Find out how we rated them below...
Petr Cech - The veteran Arsenal shot-stopper did not cover himself in glory for Valencia's goal as he made arguably his final appearance in an Arsenal shirt A true pro and a legend of English football. 6
Shkodran Mustafi - Poor positioning for Valencia's crucial away goal and offered little defensive cover in what was a very poor strike to concede. 5
Sokratis - Threw himself into challenges but should he have been more aware for Diakhaby's goal? 6
Laurent Koscielny - The Gunners captain spoke warmly of Aaron Ramsey in Wednesday's pre Valencia presser at Colney while opening up about his struggles during his return to first team action. He remarked that it was the Europa League semi-final last year in which he picked up his serious achilles injury and played as if he wanted to banish those painful memories of the previous season's last four. 6
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Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Sent-off last weekend against Leicester the youngster did not let anyone down in his wing-back position. 7
Matteo Guendouzi - Emery opted for the 20-year-old in favour of the more experienced Lucas Torreira as he looked for a tad more mobility from his defensive shields against a nippy and technically proficient Valencia attack. Was the move a success? Not if the first 15 minutes were anything to go by as the opposition swarmed forward. Replaced by Torreira in the 58th minute. 6
Granit Xhaka - Not as effective as he would have liked during those opening 15 minutes when Valencia grabbed the all-important away goal. Excels at sitting deep but is not an all-action midfielder required to win the battle in the heart of midfiield when faced with a lively and potent attack. 6
Sead Kolasinac - Failed to deliver a number of important crosses especially during the first half A powerfully built footballer but does not impose his will on games that his muscularity demands. 6
Mesut Ozil - The creative talent was given a vital role as the playmaker between the defensive work of the two deep lying midfielders and the two forwards. Influential in Arsenal's comeback as he purred his way through the two goal comeback. Deserved his warm ovation after he was subbed by Mkhitaryan. 7
Alexandre Lacazette - Two goals from the Arsenal striker tuned this match around. Looked lively all night and never let the Valencia defence settle. Linked well with PEA as the pair dovetailed well. 8
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Remarkably unselfish for a top level striker. He has a superb understanding with his friend Laceztte. His powerful, surging run was a joy to watch. For me his is Arsenal's player of the season. 19 league goals in 33 league games proves it. As does a further five in Europe as well as excellent unsung performances such as this. Fully deserved his goal late on to send the crowd into raptures. 8
Substitutes:
Lucas Torreira: Replaced Guendouzi early in the second half. The move was indicative of Emery's acknowledgement that his decision to start with the younger player was perhaps wrong. 7
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Replaced Ozil and flitted in an out of the game.. 6
Nacho Monreal: Replaced a tiring Koscielny late on after recovering from a tight calf. 6
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