Ramsey blow takes off the gloss for Arsenal ‘heroes’
UNAI EMERY described his players as heroes last night as they booked a Europa League semi-final against his former club Valencia. But the Gunners’ euphoric night against Napoli was dampened by concerns that midfielder Aaron Ramsey had played his last game for the club after he injured a hamstring in the first half. Alexandre Lacazette’s freekick secured a 3-0 aggregate win on what was supposed to be a hostile night for Arsenal. And Emery said: ‘Yes, the players are heroes tonight. I’m proud of the players and supporters who came here to be with us. We showed we can play matches against good teams with a big personality. ‘With a big atmosphere here, we started very well. We didn’t consider the possibility of failing. I don’t know if it’s the best performance under my management but it’s good to be carrying on in our way.’ Two former Arsenal players, Francis Coquelin and Gabriel, are now at Valencia, although Coquelin will be suspended for the first leg. Emery added: ‘They are a very good team who do very good work with the coach with good players. It will be a difficult match for us.’ But there are growing fears that Ramsey could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring problem before his move to Juventus. Depending on how serious the strain is, the Welshman could miss around a month, which would rule him out of the club’s remaining Premier League game as well as the two-legged semi-final. He could be fit for the Europa League final in Baku on May 29 if Arsenal get that far. Emery said: ‘It is a muscular injury. Normally it is going to be some weeks out. I don’t know if he will miss the rest of the season. ‘But he was in a very good moment and working very well but we have other players ready waiting.’ Lacazette, who has now been involved in 25 goals for the Gunners this season, told BT Sport: ‘I’ve been practising free-kicks in training. All my team-mates believe in me, so I’m happy to score tonight, and for them.’ Defender Laurent Koscielny said: ‘We came here with ambition, we wanted to win, to score some goals, and we did that.’ Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti said: ‘We are not happy but where we didn’t do so well was in the first 20 minutes in the first game. And after Arsenal scored it was almost impossible.’