Unai Emery claims Arsenal ARE the favourites to reach the Europa League final despite losing first leg to Villarreal as Spaniard insists Mikel Arteta's side are 'one or two notches above' LaLiga outfit on eve of his return to north London

Unai Emery insists Arsenal remain favourites to reach the Europa League final despite losing the first leg of their semi-final against Villarreal.

Emery, sacked as Arsenal manager in November 2019, returns to the Emirates for the first time on Thursday with his new club leading 2-1 after last week's win over the Gunners in Spain.

But Emery said: 'I consider the first leg result does not change how I see the initial competition. Arsenal started as a favourites and they are still favourites at this stage.

Emery's Villarreal hold a slender lead over the Gunners heading into Thursday's second leg

'We are candidates to be able to play against this kind of teams and we'll try to compete against this kind of team, those favourite teams but the first-leg result is really narrow to make anything change.