Europa League: 3 reasons why Arsenal might lose to Valencia
At this moment, nothing seems to be going right for the teams battling for a top four finish in the English Premier League, Arsenal inclusive. For the first time in Unai Emery's management, the Gunners have lost three games in a row in the EPL. This comes after advancing into the semi-finals of the Europa League back in mid April.
Valencia too are not having an extremely good run as they have lost two consecutive LaLiga fixtures at the hands of Atletico Madrid and Eibar. The Spanish club will travel to the Emirates stadium for the first leg of the semi-finals clash.
Prior to their loss to Crystal Palace, Emery's men had not lost at home since the turn of the year. The Emirates is also the place where the Gunners have managed to turn around the fixtures against Bate Borisov and Rennes.
However, things are currently looking unfavourable for the Gunners. As much as they remain favourites to advance to the finals of the competition, the North London club could well lose this home match against Valencia. Here is a look at three reasons why they might lose.
#3 Head to head records
The last time both sides met was back in 2003, where the Gunners lost 2-1. Valencia have faced Arsenal a total of five times, winning thrice during the meetings. Arsenal have won just once and that happened in 2001. It has been more than a decade since both clubs met and many things have changed.
Some might say that as the former manager of Valencia, Emery should know the club inside out. However, it has been close to seven years since his departure from the Spanish club, and one can no longer trust that Emery knows the tactics to beating them.
In Emery's 11 matches against Valencia, he has won slightly more than half of them (5). At the same time, Valencia dropped into the Europa League following their third-placed finish in the UCL this season and are yet to lose a match in the competition.
With these records, history might repeat itself and see Arsenal lose to Valencia once again.