Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck a vital late goal to seal a 3-1 win over Valencia on Thursday and give his side breathing space for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final in Spain next week.
Alexandre Lacazette scored twice in the first half after Mouctar Diakhaby had stunned the Emirates crowd with an early header to give Valencia the lead.
The tie was still balanced on a knife edge, however, before Gabon striker Aubameyang’s 90th-minute volley put his side in control ahead of the second leg in Valencia’s Mestalla.
Unai Emery’s team will need to show more steel than they have done away from home for much of the season, though, if they are to reach the final in Baku and a possible meeting with London rivals Chelsea.
Chelsea drew 1-1 away in the first leg of their semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Arsenal, Europa League semi-finalists last year, had lost three consecutive Premier League games to drop to fifth place in the table with two games left — undermining their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish.
But Emery has a special relationship with the Europa League having won it three times in a row with Sevilla and delivering the trophy to Arsenal for the first time now looks their most likely route back into the elite tournament.
“We know it’s going to be hard (in Valencia) so of course getting as many goals as we could is better for us,” Lacazette, who should have been celebrating a hat-trick, said.
“Thankfully, Auba scored the third one.
“We want to win the Europa League to go straight to the Champions League but also to win a trophy.”
Arsenal had conceded nine goals in their last three Premier League games and it was easy to see why in a dreadful opening.
Valencia, themselves struggling to secure a top-four spot in La Liga, sliced through the home defence at will and had gone close to scoring before Frenchman Diakhaby put them ahead.
When a corner was swung over in the 11th minute, an unmarked Rodrigo headed it back across goal where Diakhaby rose above three stationary Arsenal defenders to nod past Petr Cech.
For a while there was panic in the Arsenal ranks and both Daniel Parejo and Goncalo Guedes threatened a second.
But Lacazette stopped Valencia in their tracks seven minutes after the hosts went behind.
He released Aubameyang with a superb pass before arriving in the box to steer a shot past Neto after his fellow striker cleverly held up the ball before squaring it.
Seven minutes passed before Granit Xhaka’s cross found Lacazette and his downward header had just enough power to cross the line despite Neto’s desperate attempt to keep it out.
Suddenly Arsenal were rampant and another Xhaka cross found Aubameyang but he bounced his volley over.
Valencia burst back into life in the second half and it needed a brave header by Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny to stop a cross reaching the dangerous Goncalo Guedes.
Lacazette wasted two gilt-edged chances to put the hosts in control, miscuing a header from Aubameyang’s cross with the goal gaping and weakly shooting straight at Neto.
Valencia, losing semi-finalists in 2012 and 2014, would have been reasonably content heading back to Spain with a one-goal deficit but they switched off in the dying minutes.
Moments after Neto had made a superb save, Arsenal kept the ball alive and Sead Kolasinac’s cross found Aubameyang at the far post to drive his volley home.
Chelsea set record with 1-1 draw at Eintracht
Chelsea set a Europa League record of 16 successive matches unbeaten on Thursday with 1-1 semi-final first leg draw at Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to a Pedro equaliser on the stroke of half time.
Serbian Luka Jovic had put the hosts ahead after 23 minutes.
The draw meant Chelsea, Europa League winners in 2013, surpassed Atletico Madrid’s 2011-12 unbeaten run.
They took time to find their stride, however, with Jovic stooping to head past the outstretched Kepa Arrizabalaga off a cross from compatriot Filip Kostic with a goal that raised the decibels in a stadium famed for its atmosphere.
Jovic, firmly on the radar of top clubs across Europe, has now scored nine goals in the competition and 26 in all this season.
Frankfurt failed to press home their advantage, however, running out of energy in a second half dominated by the visitors with Jorginho dictating play.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek led the fightback, blasting just wide in the 42nd minute and then nimbly beating defenders before feeding the ball through to Spanish winger Pedro who hammered in a low left-foot shot.
Chelsea were far livelier after the break, with the hosts having another close escape when David Luiz rattled the crossbar from a dipping free kick.
Frankfurt captain David Abraham headed over the bar while unmarked with six minutes remaining after an optimistic appeal for a penalty came to nothing.
“At 1-0 down we were a bit in trouble,” Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta said.
“I think the last 15 minutes of the first half we dominated with great chances. We scored the goal before halftime and in the second half I think we had more chances than them.”
Both sides are fourth in their domestic leagues, with the Europa League offering an alternative route to next season’s Champions League.
The second leg is at Stamford Bridge next Thursday, when the positions in the Premier League will also come into clearer focus before the final weekend.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri left Eden Hazard on the bench until the 62nd minute, preferring to rest the Belgian forward for those important remaining Premier League games against Watford and Leicester City.
When Hazard did come on, he had a shot tipped over the bar.
“I am very happy with the performance but not with the result,” said Sarri, who felt Chelsea should have scored more.
“After 25 minutes we started to play. We played very well in the last 20 minutes of the first half, very well for 35 minutes in the second half. And so I think that at the end we deserved to win. But 1-1 away is not so bad.”
Arsenal beat Valencia 3-1 in the other semi-final first league, increasing the likelihood of an all-London final in Baku.
