Unai Emery’s Arsenal will host La Liga outfit Valencia in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium.
Valencia coach Marcelino Garcia Toral has hailed Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil as an ‘amazing’ talent ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League semi-final first leg, in quotes reported by TuttoNapoli.
The Gunners were knocked out of the competition at this stage by Atletico Madrid 12 months ago but can be confident of going one step further with Unai Emery, who lifted the trophy three times in a row with Sevilla, now at the helm.
But if Arsenal are to reach the final in Baku, where they would play either Chelsea or Eintracht Frankfurt, they must find a way to defeat a Valencia side boasting the attacking talents of Rodrigo Moreno, Dani Parejo and the in-form Goncalo Guedes.
And while Emery will be wary of the club he coached between 2008 and 2012, counterpart Marcelino is at pains to point out the quality at Arsenal’s disposal ahead of the first-leg clash at The Emirates – with one player in particular catching his eye.
“I expect a very difficult game, we are facing an opponent who has talent, speed and great quality,” said the former Villarreal tactician.
“Their two strikers (Alex Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) have scored almost 50 goals this season, then there is an amazing assist-man like Ozil, without forgetting Emery, a really capable coach, and their well-defined style of play.”
It remains to be seen whether Ozil, who has ranged from the exceptional to the anonymous in recent weeks, will be picked to start against Valencia on home soil.
But with Aaron Ramsey set to miss the rest of the season through injury, Arsenal need their German playmaker to be at top form with everything to play for.
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