Arsenal vs Slavia Prague: Atoning for Europa League failings

Villarreal and Unai Emery: A perfect matchup for the Mikel Arteta revolution

What makes the prospect of the Arsenal and Villarreal matchup so mouthwatering is absolutely, without question, the backstory. Emery, a coach who has found very good success at nearly every stop on his coaching journey, was fired from Arsenal after taking over for the legendary Arsène Wenger.

While we can debate the merits of his sacking, there is little argument from most that he is a capable manager in the right circumstances; north London was not that circumstance unfortunately, for both us and himself.

Yet he has bounced back at Villarreal, where he has continued his own, personal proud tradition of managing in the Europa League. He has famously done incredibly well in this competition, winning with Sevilla twice, while reaching the finals with Arsenal before losing to Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea.

Were he to bring Villarreal to a final match after beating Arsenal on the way there, I could imagine few sweeter moments for the Spanish boss. Consequently, a victory by Arsenal would feel as cathartic for many fans who questioned the choice, as well as for our own boss, Mikel Arteta, who has had a rocky tenure full of success and difficulty.

For either team, depending on the result of the other side of the bracket, the final match could be varying degrees of difficulty in comparison to the game they will have just finished; yet without resolve and composure, Arsenal will not only never see the finals at all, but not even the semi-finals.

It all starts so soon, and only the fullest of efforts can be given, for without such effort, there will be no more European matches to play, not only for this season, but for the next year as well.