Unai Emery speaks on importance of the Europa League

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has spoken about the need to focus on the Europa League campaign with the club virtually out of the running for the top four of the Premier League.

The Gunners only managed a draw against Brighton during their recent league encounter and this has meant that they are three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a lesser goal difference of eight goals.

As such, their prospects of making the top four remain improbable barring a miracle of sorts and Emery has indicated that the club need to show more importance towards their return leg against Valencia in Europe.

“We knew it is going to be difficult but our focus is now the Europa League. We have the opportunity in the Europa League to do something important and we will try and do that,” he told Sky Sports.

Arsenal have a 3-1 advantage from the opening leg of their semi-final clash in the Europa League but they face a trickier challenge on the road where they have struggled over the course of the season.

Still, they can take confidence from the fact that they managed to outclass Napoli in the previous tie and the same could be repeated against Valencia at the Mestalla.

As things stand, the north London side face the compulsion of winning the Europa League this term, if they are to qualify for the Champions League after a two-season gap.