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'My past at Arsenal is less important' - Villarreal boss Emery downplays Europa League drama with former club

Unai Emery has downplayed potential personal drama ahead of Villarreal's Europa League semi-final date with Arsenal, the club that sacked him two years ago.

He said his past with the Gunners was less important than the task of leading his current team to a shock trophy in the competition and earning the corresponding bid to next season's Champions League.

Villarreal have yet to lose in the Europa League this season, and they finished off a 3-1 aggregate quarter-final win over Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, as Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno each found the net in the space of seven minutes in the first half to effectively put the tie to bed.