Unai Emery was likely troubled about his team’s chances immediately after Samuel Chukwueze went down strangely after half an hour against the coach's former side Arsenal on Thursday night.
While that fear would surely have been enhanced had Gerard Moreno — Villarreal’s top player for goal contributions — been the one to go off, Chukwueze’s form in recent weeks had eased the Yellow Submarine of their dependency on the Spain attacker.
Having struggled for direct goal involvements all season, the winger’s upswing in recent weeks had seen him score or assist five times in six games before Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.