Emery: We can be proud of the whole club

The victory made sure of their place in the Europa League final, where they will take on Chelsea, who defeated Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties on Wednesday night.

Speaking to BT Sport, Emery said: "I am very proud of the players and the supporters. The players did all they could and we can be proud of the whole club."

The Spaniard also suggested that his previous success in the competition would help Arsenal in the final, saying: "The past is for experience and can be used in the present.

"It is very difficult to play in finals - we took our opportunity today which we are happy about.

"We knew we had to be calm after they scored and we needed to control our emotions. It is very difficult to score four goals against this team because they are very organised. It gave us confidence to score quickly, we know our strikers are taking chances."

Petr Cech was not concerned about the possibility of facing Chelsea in the final. He is set to make his final appearance for the club when the two clubs meet in Baku.

Speaking before their game against Eintracht Frankfurt had ended, the Czech goalkeeper said: "I have no preferences who we play in the final. The team who manages to get to the final always deserves it. It would be a remarkable end to my career if I play a European final against my former team."

Talking about his performance against Valencia, he said "With all my experience, I can compensate for the match rhythm with my preparation. The key is always how you prepare in training and I always behave the same whether I am starting or on the bench. I always feel confident I am ready to play. I enjoyed it when we scored the fourth goal because that was the moment i knew we were in the final."

The former Chelsea man admitted to having second thoughts about retirement, but denied he would change his mind, saying after the match: "You have days when you play well and you think you could continue but I think I have made the decision with a lot of thought. I could possibly go another two years but I would rather retire early than too late. I wanted to do it on my terms. The last dream was to play this European final and it has come true, now the dream is to win it."