​ Five of the previous 28 teams to lose the first leg of a UEFA Cup/Europa League semi final by two plus goals have ended up progressing, most recently Espanyol against Club Brugge in 1987/88. Arsenal have never been knocked out of a European tie in which they won the first leg by two or more goals, progressing from all 27 previously. Valencia are looking to reach their first major European final since the 2004 UEFA Cup, when they beat Marseille 2-0 under Rafael Benitez. Arsenal’s last appearances in a European final was in 2006, losing the Champions League showpiece against ​Barcelona . The Gunners have lost each of the last three major European finals they’ve reached (1995 Cup Winners Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup, 2006 Champions League). Valencia have won both of their two previous home games against Arsenal, beating them 1-0 in the 2000/01 Champions League quarter-final and 2-1 in the 2002/03 ​Champions League second group stage. Arsenal have lost their last four away games against Spanish opponents, and are winless in their last seven such games (D2 L5) since a 1-0 win at ​Real Madrid in February 2006. 📋 Here’s how we line up for tonight’s semi-final second leg… 🏆 #UEL — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 9, 2019 Valencia have lost just one of their last 21 home games in all competitions (W15 D5), though it was their last such game against Eibar in La Liga (1-0). Including finals, Arsenal manager Unai Emery has won his last 18 Europa League knockout ties, last being eliminated from the competition in the 2011/12 semi finals with Valencia. Valencia’s Kevin Gameiro has been directly involved in ten goals in his last 11 starts in home Europa League games, scoring nine and assisting one.<doc-sep>This was the biggest game of the Unai Emery era and Arsenal’s best result in Europe for at least 10 years. They now have one foot in a European final, for the first time in 13 years. If they win it, it will be their first European trophy in 25 years, as well as their passage back into the Champions League. For all of those reasons it would cap off a first year of progress of Unai Emery, and a turnaround after years of European underachievement. So why didn’t it always feel like that? Because despite all of those reasons, this did not have much more competitive tension than any of the other low-wattage home games here this season. Outside the ground there was no real buzz, inside the game felt routine. If this was a European semi-final, why did it feel more like the Emirates Cup? Maybe this was a simple matter of contrast between the two Champions League semi-finals earlier in the week. Because there was none of the mastery of Ajax, the spirit of Spurs, the ferocious bravery of Liverpool or the high-speed precision of Barcelona. Watching this game after those two was like stepping from bright sunlight into dusk. But this is about more than just that. Everyone knows that the Europa League is the secondary competition. Arsenal played in it last season, remember. They reached this stage before going out to Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. And that first leg here against Atletico, a draining edgy 1-1 draw, had the unmistakeable mood of importance and tension that defines a European semi-final. Precisely the same mood that was lacking tonight. Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Show all 22 1 /22 Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Petr Cech 6 REUTERS Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Shkodran Mustafi 6 AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6 REUTERS Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Laurent Koscielny 7 AP Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Ainsley Maitland-Niles 6 Action Images via Reuters Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Matteo Guendouzi 6 Action Images via Reuters Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Granit Xhaka 7 Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Sead Kolasinac 7 Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Mesut Ozil 6 REUTERS Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Alexandre Lacazette 8 PA Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8 Action Images via Reuters Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Norberto Murara Neto 6 Arsenal FC via Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Cristiano Piccini 6 EPA Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Gabriel 6 AP Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Ezequiel Garay 6 AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Facundo Roncaglia 6 AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Jose Gaya 6 REUTERS Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Carlos Soler 6 Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Mouctar Diakhaby 7 EPA Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Daniel Parejo 7 AP Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Rodrigo 6 AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Arsenal vs Valencia Goncalo Guedes 6 REUTERS Of course it helped that this Atletico Madrid are one of the greatest teams and greatest stories of this generation, and this Valencia are not. Marcelino has stabilised Valencia during his two years in charge there and dragged them up to the top of the table. But they are sixth in this year’s La Liga for a reason: they are not exactly brimming with quality, and even after taking an early set-piece lead they let Arsenal straight back into the game. Maybe if this had been against a better side it might have meant more. But there may be an even deeper cause than that. Last season’s Europa League had the feel of an epic quest: one old man’s mission to make the most of his dwindling time, to produce one great final work, enough to complete his legacy and allow him to say goodbye in peace. Of course it did not turn out like that but those Europa League knockout games were imbued with meaning for precisely that reason. Recommended Lacazette strikes twice as Arsenal close in on Europa League final In the post-Arsene Wenger era, though, Arsenal are still looking for their meaning. There has not been much in this first season under Unai Emery to prove that the team is on the right path. Of course they have played well at times - it would be difficult not to with these attacking players - but good performances have always been offset by poor ones. They came into this game after consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester City, conceding three goals each time: thumping proof of how fragile this team still is, and how brittle the Emery gains are. Because unlike the Arsenal side that lost here to Atletico last year, this Arsenal team is still looking for its identity, and looking for its story. Even the thread of this Europa League run has been one of a team of experienced Premier League players, set up by a specialist in this competition, methodically working their way through a long list of inferior opponents. Maybe the prospect of a European final, Arsenal’s first since 2006, will change that. Maybe Baku is where this team will find itself again. Especially if they play Chelsea with a Champions League place on the line. Sometimes these connections do not gestate but instead appear in a flash. But until they do, even nights as big as this one will not feel as significant as they should.<doc-sep>
Arsenal hold a 3-1 lead ahead of tonight's Europa League semi-final second leg against Valencia. Following two days of drama in the Champions League, Unai Emery has called for his side not to get complacent against a Los Che side which has twice overturned a first-leg deficit in cup competitions this season. "For us is the same message when we played the first leg in London," the Spaniard said during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "We are 50-50. "After the first leg the result has not changed. It will be very difficult here. We can take some examples. Not just yesterday [at Anfield] but in the past. We have full motivation and the preparation has to be good for this match. Emery has named a strong 21-man squad for tonight, although he does have a few decisions to make in regards to the team he selects. Ahead of the second leg at the Mestalla, football.london offered Gunners supporters the chance to pick the XI Emery should select in what has become the biggest game of the Spaniard's short tenure in north London. The most popular XI contained Shkodran Mustafi in a back three alongside Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis. This is very much a surprise as the German's popularity amongst many Arsenal fans had seemed to be at an all-time low following his error-ridden performance in the 3-2 home loss against Crystal Palace last month. However, he was decent in the first-leg a week ago and it would appear supporters wouldn't mind seeing him start against his former club once again. That sentiment was echoed by Gunners legend Martin Keown last week when discussing what changes Emery should make to the team which finished the game at the Emirates. "I don’t think Ozil plays away from home, he’s made that decision," Keown said on BT Sport. It’s whether he wants to put Iwobi in or Mkhitaryan in. "The 11 that finished tonight, Koscielny’s not fit, Monreal comes in, then I think that’s as good a team as he can put out in the away leg." Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android . Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .