Interview

‘We are all so proud of Aubameyang!’

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nacho Monreal celebrate in Valencia
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nacho Monreal celebrate in Valencia

There was no hiding the smile on Nacho Monreal’s face after we reached the final of the Europa League on Thursday night.

Our left back stopped to chat to Arsenal.com in the mixed zone after the match - and he was especially complimentary of hat-trick hero, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:

on a special night…

That’s the truth. In the last games, we didn’t play well. We haven’t finished the Premier League season as well as we would have wanted. But tonight I think every single player that started the game and every player that came off the bench showed [what we can do]. Today was an amazing game. In the first 10 minutes we suffered a lot and they pushed. But after that, we took control and scored a lot of goals, so everyone is really happy.

on playing in a hostile atmosphere…

Yeah, I’ve played here so many times and I know the fans - they are one of the best sets of fans in Spain. They push a lot and made it hard for us in the beginning. But after 10 or 15 minutes when the game calmed down, we started to play our game, and I think we were the better team from then on.

on Aubameyang’s hat-trick…

We needed him and we needed Laca. We are so proud of him because he’s scored three goals in a semi-final. He’s helped us a lot but it’s not only him, it’s every player. He scored a hat-trick, so we are all really happy for him.

on the final giving us a chance to get back into the Champions League…

Yeah, yeah. Our target is to play in the Champions League next season. Unfortunately we couldn’t finish in the Premier League top four, but now we have a good chance. I can’t remember the last time we played in a European final - 2006 against Barcelona? Now we have a good opportunity to finish the season with a trophy and play in the Champions League next season.

See Full List

Fixtures & Results

Premier League
Ticket Info