Unai Emery admits he is wary of the threat posed by Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Villarreal boss prepares to return to the Emirates.
Emery was Gunners' head coach when they reached the final of the Europa league in 2019, with Aubameyang scoring a hat-trick in their semi-final victory in Valencia.
Arsenal were subsequently beaten by London rivals Chelsea in Baku but, with Gabon international Aubameyang expected to start against the Yellow Submarine on Thursday night, Emery knows he could once again be the danger man his side must be wary of.
"He has been through a process of being out of the team because of the illness he has had but he is back," said Emery.
"He is there to work, to defend the team and give everything for the team, hoping he can perform at the top level and if that happens, he is going to be very difficult to stop.
"We expect to find the best Aubameyang possible, the same with Granit Xhaka. I think he is a great person, a really great footballer.
"He was the top scorer in the Premier League [along with Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah] when I was there."
Despite Villarreal's narrow victory at El Madrigal last week, Emery insists he still sees Arsenal as favourites to progress into the final in the Polish city of Gdansk on May 26.
"I consider the first-leg result does not change how I see the initial competition," he added.
"Arsenal started as favourites and they are still favourites at this stage. We will try to compete against this kind of team - those favourite teams - but the first-leg result is really narrow to make anything change.
"Why [are they favourites]? Because of history, because of the present, because of the ability and the level, from the budget, from the players they have in their squad - I consider them favourites. We are the underdogs."
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