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Villarreal president shares why he was extra pleased to beat Arsenal last night

Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images
Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images
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Villarreal are into the final of the Europa League after a 0-0 draw with Arsenal last night.

The Gunners were unable to recover from the 2-1 first leg defeat and were hardly threatening their visitors late on last night.

Villarreal are the only non-English side in the final of the Champions League or Europa League.

And as per TMW, Villarreal president Fernando Roig said they were extra motivated to ensure that this month’s showpieces weren’t monopolised by English clubs.

“It is important to finally be able to compete in a European final. We have qualified, and we will enjoy this milestone for the moment,” he said.

“Then we will prepare ourselves, with pride, for the final in Gdansk. We tried so often that a win in the semifinals had to come.

“It’s great that a Spanish side are in the final. We didn’t want both UEFA finals to be played exclusively by the English.

“Now there are three Premier League teams and a small Spanish club called Villarreal.”

Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Of course, Villarreal boss Unai Emery will be especially pleased to have overseen last night’s victory too.

His Arsenal reign had started to drift without direction, but Mikel Arteta hasn’t been able to inspire much progress.

A mid-table finish, a trophyless season and likely spending next term out of Europe all add up to create question marks over Arteta’s future.

Meanwhile, Emery is into the final of the Europa League for the fifth time, where he will seek to mastermind victory over Manchester United on 26 May.