Villarreal know what to expect from Aubameyang, says Emery

Unai Emery has said that Villarreal are expecting the best version of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Europa League.

Unai Emery knows his side must be aware of Gunners frontman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when both teams face off in the return leg of the Europa League.

Villarreal will head to Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their semi-final tie against the Gunners on Thursday night, where they will be defending a 2-1 aggregate lead.

Aubameyang sat out the reverse fixture at El Madrigal to continue his recovery from Malaria but will be available for selection again when Villarreal arrive in north London.

Emery, who coached Aubameyeng for a year-and-a-half at Arsenal before he was sacked in November 2019, is wary of the threat the Gabon international could pose to his side as they bid to book their place in the Europa League final.

“He’s a killer and always will be,” the Spaniard told a pre-match press conference as quoted by Metro. “He’s back now, and that means the alarms go off. He’s very hard to stop.

Emery on Aubameyang: "Aubameyang is a killer. He was, he is & he will always be. He was the top scorer in the Premier League when I was there, he is really good physically & is a killer, like I said" pic.twitter.com/f3TpCiudWp
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) May 5, 2021

“We work expecting the best version of Auba. He’s a great person and player.”

Aubameyang’s battle with Malaria was the latest in a string of fitness issues that have served to restrict his overall contribution to the Gunners’ 2020-21 campaign.

The 31-year-old has also struggled to adapt to a new role out wide in Mikel Arteta’s set-up, but still has 15 goals to his name through 35 appearances across all competitions to date.