Unai Emery insists Arsenal are favourites to reach the Europa League final - and he expects to see the “best” of his old club.
Villarreal boss Emery, who was axed by Arsenal in November 2019 after 18 months in charge, returns to the Emirates for the first time with a slender 2-1 lead.
But despite Arsenal’s poor showing in the first leg, Emery expects them to be much better this time after they sneaked a precious away goal thanks to Nicolas Pepe’s late penalty.
Emery said: “I consider the first leg result does not change how I see the initial competition. Arsenal started as a favourites and they are still faves at this stage. We are candidates to play against this kind of teams and we will try to compete.
“The first leg result is really narrow to change things like history, ability, the budget. I consider them favourites. We are the underdogs. We are a solid team with an ability to reach these heights. But I think in that respect Arsenal is one or two notches above us.
“We expect to see the best Arsenal. We will try to play our game and keep being what we are. At certain times we might have to suffer. I expect an extra something from Arsenal and we will have to face that.”
Emery is the Europa League specialist having won it three years running with Sevilla and yet lost the final in 2019 while in charge of Arsenal which ended badly.
But Emery insists returning to the Emirates will still be a night to remember. He added: “Feelings are always inside your heart. Good moments. Bad moments. A lot of affection I received from many people.
“There were certain decisions that resulted in me going out but I’m going back with a lot of excitement about Villarreal going to a beautiful stadium.”
