Before this match Valencia had always had Arsenal’s number. They had won all three previous ties between the pair and then, in 2016, took £35m off the Gunners for Shkodran Mustafi. That is what folks in north London might refer to as being properly mugged off and if it did not exactly make this a grudge match, it at least reinforced the need for Arsenal to win for their own sense of worth, before anything else. That was true for Mustafi more than anyone.
Although the first meeting between these clubs ended in a penalty shootout defeat for Arsenal after a 0-0 draw in the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup final, it is also remembered for one of the great performances by an Arsenal centre-back, as David O’Leary subdued Valencia’s World Cup-winning striker Mario Kempes. That is the sort of precedent by which Mustafi is judged and before this game the jury’s view of the German had reached its dimmest, with the evidence of his three years’ service leading many to conclude he is among the worst recruits in the club’s history.
Related: Arsenal’s Lacazette-Aubameyang double act puts Valencia on back foot
Related: Arsenal v Valencia: Europa League semi-final, first leg – live!
Continue reading...