Arsenal made light of the dangers associated with this encounter and, in doing so, set up one of the stories of the season. Their hopes of progressing to the Europa League final, and potentially performing a feat of alchemy on their year’s work, rest on a meeting with Unai Emery and his Villarreal side. It will inevitably constitute a referendum on how far Arsenal have travelled since Mikel Arteta replaced Emery 16 months ago; the narrative could hardly be more compelling and has added spice given the latter’s uncharacteristic inability to produce the goods on this stage during his short time in north London.
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