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Fifteen years later, Villarreal claimed revenge. It has taken three decades to remove the thorn from that penalty that Riquelme missed against Arsenal and that could have led the Yellows to the Champions League final. Five semi-finals has needed the Castellón team to enjoy the first final in its history but the wait has come to an end. Unai Emery - three titles and another final behind him - led Villarreal to Gdansk, where on May 26 they will have the opportunity to fight Manchester United for their first title after getting rid of an Arsenal unable to score in the return leg.

Villarreal made an intelligent approach, trying not to get the game out of hand and for as few things as possible to happen. With the expected eleven, with Mario and Coquelin in the positions of Foyth and Capoue, Emery's team did not want to speculate, aware that giving the initiative to the English could play against them having players like Aubameyang, Pépé or Saka in front of them. The minimal advantage of the first leg did not give rise to being too conservative. The plan was to play as if starting from scratch, and that's how the yellows came out, pressing up, dominating and arriving in the first bars.

Chukwueze broke the calm with a left-footed shot that Leno responded well to. The Nigerian was the one who woke up more restless, facing a Tierney who entered at the last minute due to Xhaka's discomfort in the warm-up and looking for the minimum goal that he found a gap. Unfortunately for his team, he missed half an hour on the pitch and had to request the change to make way for Yeremy, the most similar profile on the bench.

The balance of power had been changing with the passage of the minutes, gaining more prominence an Arsenal tied in short by the Castellón. Arteta's team had arguments to pose problems in an open game but not so much to generate danger in positional attacks. The coach put Thomas as a pivot in front of the defense but neither Odegarrd nor Smith Rowe were able to give the ball a clear exit. It was not easy either a Villarreal very well placed on the green and that cut the passing lines well. Nor did he allow the Gunner trident to run, so the most dangerous action of the English came from set pieces. Aubameyang, who in the few minutes he had in the first leg already showed signs of the threat that he could be,a ball hit the post that the yellow defense did not manage to move away from their area after a corner kick. His was also a shot from the front to which Rulli's poor save in the first instance gave more danger than he really had.

Arsenal took a step forward after the break, very evident in a start where they had two good options in a shot from Pépé and another from Smith Rowe that did not find a goal. The English began to arrive now with more frequency and clarity against a Villarreal that was beginning to suffer and defend much closer to their area. Those of Emery got some relief when Parejo took the helm but they hardly arrived in danger. The best option was Gerard after a ball that Thomas lost in a three-quarter zone but the Catalan finished with a centered shot that gave Leno no problems.

As the minutes progressed, the drive from Arsenal grew, where Arteta even made use of a Lacazette who was not one hundred percent.

The Frenchman replaced Aubameyang just after Aubameyang had the clearest chance to have led Arsenal to Gdansk but the post again denied the striker.

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