Arsenal reaching the Europa League semi-final was always going to mark the return to the Emirates Stadium of at least one former player.
The Gunners' side of the draw had them facing the winners of the all La Liga clash between Villarreal and Valencia if they were able to overcome Serie A outfit Napoli in the quarter-final.
And that's what they did.
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Alexandre Lacazette's superb first-half free-kick proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night and ensured the north London outfit kept their hopes of winning the trophy firmly alive.
They'll face Valencia over two legs this month as they made light work of their Spanish rivals.
This means Arsenal fans have been denied the chance to welcome back popular midfielder Santi Cazorla to the Emirates for the first time since his departure to Villarreal last summer.
Instead his former midfield partner Francis Coquelin and Gabriel Paulista stand in the way of Unai Emery's side sealing a return to the Champions League bu virtue of winning the Europa League trophy.
However, Coquelin has been ruled out of the first-leg in north London through suspension as he was booked against Villarreal for handball.
That's the Frenchman's third yellow card in European competition this season and was two minutes away from being available at the Emirates as bookings were wiped out after the quarter-final.
This news is likely to disappoint Lacazette who has gone on record saying that Coquelin was influential in his transfer to Arsenal in the summer of 2017.
"We had a lot of contact over the next few years and even more in the weeks before I joined the club, especially when it became increasingly likely that I would come to Arsenal," Lacazette revealed.
"He only said good things about Arsenal, which is not surprising because he wanted me to join the club.
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“Even without that I still really wanted to come here. He stressed that it was a great club located in a fantastic city.
“He said I would not regret my decision to move here because of the people I’d be working with and, of course, the fans.
"He was right!"
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