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Arsenal did not look particularly sharp against Slavia Prague in their first match up last week, despite the mounting pressure on the club. When Nicolas Pepe put Arsenal ahead of Prague towards the end of the match, it was of great relief to so many Gooners worldwide. For one sitting at home, it was a thrill, that would soon be followed by shock and horror.
For Arsenal was not to keep the lead, and would end up relinquishing a possibly crucial away goal in the process.
Now, with a week having gone by since the last time the two faced one another, can the Gunners avenge their untimely draw to move on to the semi-finals against either Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal? It frankly remains to be seen.
While the last match was not what Arsenal need to demonstrate to eek out a European spot next season, and a trophy in this one, the momentum gathered from the subsequent beat down of Sheffield United has to have some impact upon the players. They must know that with effort and energy the team has a real shot to blow Slavia Prague out of the water as they should’ve in the first affair.
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1382669533853327363
Meet me at Prague: Arsenal and Slavia must not be anywhere near as close as last time
Should the Gunners fail to show up, despite the illness and injuries that likely will see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Martin Odegaard miss the match, they will make sure that they don’t bow out of the trophy hunt in shock fashion for the second year running. As they should not be in this position in the first place, it is all on them should they end up suffering for their prior poor play.
Yet I do not believe it will happen. The team has too much to play for and understands what is at stake here. It knows that the road ahead is not the most difficult one, no matter who they are to come up against, and so there is little pressure in this sense. All of the pressure is on the team currently and rejecting it while cruising to a relatively easy victory would be therapeutic for so many Arsenal supporters. The heart can’t handle much more.
Winning here is the next step, and without it, there is no step beyond. With Unai Emery likely waiting in the wings to take revenge on the club that fired him, perhaps or perhaps not correctly, Arsenal must first make sure they get to him at all by doing their part.
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.