If there was one man Villarreal could rely on, it was him. If there was one man they wanted standing over that penalty, it was him. If there was one man in their squad born for such a situation, it was him.
It is April 25, 2006, the kind of night the Valencian city of Vila-Real has seen few of. It's playing host to a Champions League semi-final just eight years on from seeing its team, Villarreal, earn their first promotion to LaLiga.
Having lost the first leg of the semi 1-0 to Arsenal in London, they have so far failed to find a way to level the tie, despite laying siege to the Gunners' goal.
But with time almost up, they have the perfect opportunity to seize the initiative as a marginal call goes their way: Gael Clichy is deemed, somewhat harshly, to have fouled Jose Mari in the box.
Up steps Juan Roman Riquelme, their undisputed talisman and one of the finest midfielders of his generation. A player possessed with the kind of technical wizardry on the ball that few others are – there's surely only one outcome?
But Riquelme's spot-kick is a poor one, placed to his right and at the perfect height for Jens Lehmann in the Arsenal goal.
The German easily makes the save, and Arsenal – not little Villarreal – are going to their first Champions League final.
They met again in the quarter-finals three years later but the tie was rather more one-sided, Arsenal winning 4-1 on aggregate.
Twelve years on and the Gunners aren't quite the power they once were, and Villarreal are looking to settle a score when they meet in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
So too is Unai Emery.
A hiding to nothing
Emery's time at Arsenal was probably doomed from the start. Succeeding Arsene Wenger, even with the lack of success towards the end of his tenure, was always going to be a tough ask.
In his second season at the helm, for a while it seemed only a matter of time before he went from Gunner to gonner. He was eventually dismissed on November 29, 2019, and the following month saw Mikel Arteta appointed as his successor.
Though, it's fair to say Arsenal have not seen much of an improvement under Arteta, whose 79 matches in charge is just one more than Emery managed.
Arteta's win percentage of 51 is shy of Emery's 55, while under the latter the Gunners scored 152 (compared to 127). The main difference in the current coach's favour is that they have conceded considerably fewer (80, down from 100), which perhaps is likely linked to the fact Arsenal are less of a threat in attack now.
Emery's Villarreal arguably come into this tie as favourites as well. They boast a better record almost across the board for this season, winning more often (53 per cent to 47), scoring more (87 to 82) and conceding fewer (47 to 54) than the Gunners, and their coach's record in this competition speaks for itself having won it three times with Sevilla, losing just six of 39 games.
If Villarreal can qualify for their first European final, Gerard Moreno will probably have had something to do with it one way or another.
The Spain international is enjoying the best season of his career and is something of a triple-threat.
The key to Emery's revenge plot
Moreno is a clever player. What makes his productivity in front of goal all the more impressive is the fact he's rarely deployed as an out-and-out central striker.
Instead, Moreno prefers to operate from the right, coming inside on to his left foot and occasionally floating around to also maximise his creative talents.
After all, not only is he Villarreal's top scorer with 20 goals this season in LaLiga, he's also laid on the most chances (38) in the Yellow Submarine's squad.
In fact, Lionel Messi (66) is one of only five forwards in LaLiga to play more key passes than the former Espanyol talent.
Moreno's unpredictability is aided by excellent dribbling skills as well, with Messi, Javi Galan and Nabil Fekir the three individuals to better his 62 completed dribbles this term.
Additionally, his success rate is 62.6 per cent – to put that into context, Messi's is 58.6.
Granted, his goalscoring record is slightly skewed by the fact he's scored nine penalties this term, but Messi (25) is the sole LaLiga player outscoring him and he looks set to claim the Zarra award (given to the top-scoring Spaniard) for a second successive season.
His haul of 20 is also an improvement of 2.5 on his expected goals (xG) value as well, evidence that he's putting away more chances than the average player would ordinarily expect.
Moreno has also carried that goalscoring form into the Europa League, where he stands joint second on the list of scorers with six.
The skillset possessed by Villarreal's talisman makes him the ideal player to carry out a number of different roles, but it also means Arsenal have to be alive to the numerous ways he can hurt them: in front of goal, creatively, or with the ball at his feet.
The 29-year-old could have a major role to play for Spain at Euro 2020 at the end of the season. Having a decisive impact for Villarreal in such a big tie may be vital in earning more of Luis Enrique's faith, with La Roja's coach initially taking a little while to warm to him.
But for the moment all the trust he needs is Emery's, and his form this term proves he has the tools to inspire Arsenal's downfall and grasp revenge for the Yellow Submarine and their pilot.
No drugs, no crime, great World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his 10/10 Qatar experience
What Zlatan Ibrahimovic likes most about Qatar is everything.
He made that point in a Sweden press conference on Tuesday, giving 10/10 ratings to all aspects of the World Cup experience and saluting the country's lack of crime and drug problems.
The 41-year-old Milan striker had no part to play in the Qatar 2022 finals, owing to Sweden's failure to qualify, but he was a guest at the final, being pictured at the Argentina versus France showpiece game along with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.
Asked for his impressions of the tournament and the country as a whole, Ibrahimovic said: "It was fantastic. As awesome as it gets. I was there for two days with the family."
He gave a rundown of his ratings for all aspects he encountered, saying: "The organisation: 10 points. The experience: 10 points. The match: 10 points. Crowd: 10 points. The food: 10 points. The journey: 10 points. Everything was 10 points."
When it was pointed out to Ibrahimovic that Qatar has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, Ibrahimovic stuck to his theme and gave a final mark to the country.
"Ten points," he said.
Pressure groups have claimed women and people from LGBTQ+ communities are particularly badly treated in Qatar, along with migrant workers.
Amnesty International said ahead of the World Cup that hundreds of thousands of such workers had been exploited, pointing to thousands dying suddenly or unexpectedly.
The same organisation said last week that "many thousands of workers have been unable to obtain compensation for horrific abuses linked to the World Cup", calling on football's world governing body FIFA to ensure this is rectified.
Qatar has been accused by its critics of attempting to 'sportswash' its reputation by putting on a successful major event that runs smoothly and paints the country in a positive light internationally.
Ibrahimovic will not be levelling such an accusation at Qatar's door, though, because he had a 10/10 time during his stay.
Speaking in a further interview with broadcaster SVT, the former Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker added: "I think they have given opportunities to get a job. Then how they treated them, I haven't been there and seen, so I can't judge and answer those questions."
Ibrahimovic played for PSG during the early years of the Qatar Sports Investments era at the Parc des Princes, and Qatari club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi joined him and Djokovic in their World Cup final photo.
The veteran Swede therefore has that close connection, and Ibrahimovic said: "Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.
"Qatar's system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don't know."
Mitrovic charged as FA deems standard punishment 'clearly insufficient' after pushing referee
Aleksandar Mitrovic looks set for a lengthy ban after the Football Association (FA) claimed a "standard punishment" would be "clearly insufficient" after pushing the referee during Fulham's 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
Mitrovic reacted aggressively after referee Chris Kavanagh awarded United a penalty for Willian preventing a likely Jadon Sancho goal with his hand when Fulham were 1-0 up.
Kavanagh was in the process of showing Willian a red card when Mitrovic approached him, with the Serbian shoving the official and getting in his face.
A straight red would ordinarily lead to a three-match ban, but it would appear the FA will attempt to suspend him for longer.
Fulham head coach Marco Silva was also sent off while play was paused following Willian's handball, and he could be in line for a significant ban as well.
An FA statement read: "Fulham, Marco Silva and Aleksandar Mitrovic have been charged following the incidents that took place in or around the 72nd minute of their tie against Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, March 19.
"It's alleged that Marco Silva used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the match referee; that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official prior to his dismissal; and that he also used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the fourth official after being sent off.
"It's further alleged that in throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee his behaviour was improper.
"The FA has claimed that the standard punishment which would otherwise apply to Aleksandar Mitrovic for the sending off offence of violent conduct that he committed towards the match referee is clearly insufficient.
"In addition, Aleksandar Mitrovic's behaviour and/or language was allegedly improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening following his dismissal.
"It's also alleged that Fulham failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion."
Deschamps: Mbappe has communication skills to excel as France captain
Kylian Mbappe has the communication qualities to be France captain, but Didier Deschamps will not take his recent appearance as Paris Saint-Germain skipper into account when deciding who will succeed Hugo Lloris.
Lloris' retirement from international football has left Les Bleus in need of a new captain, with Mbappe receiving the backing of the goalkeeper.
Speaking to Telefoot last week, Lloris said: "There is one player that is becoming more powerful in every aspect on and off the pitch and even in the functioning of the dressing room – it's Kylian Mbappe."
France face Netherlands in qualifying for Euro 2024 on Friday, and Deschamps faced repeated questions about the identity of the new captain in his press conference on Monday.
"I'm going to use these first few days with the group to discuss it with the players concerned," said Deschamps, having offered a similar reply last week.
"Obviously, Kylian is one of those players. So, you'll know a bit more the next time I see you. In other words, the day before the game, on Thursday.
"I think if he [Mbappe] has one quality, in addition to all his other qualities, it's that he's someone who is pretty good, very good at communication. So, I don't think that's a problem on that side. But, well, I can't tell you any more because I haven't decided today."
Mbappe was PSG captain on Sunday as they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Rennes.
Deschamps added: "I have a habit, and it is not now that I will change, for each player when they are in their club, I do not have the ins and outs.
"Of course, I watch the games. But Kylian's situation or any player's situation at club level is not the same as the one he has here with the national team, so it will not be a way for me to choose.
"It involves more thorough discussions. There are different forms of captaincy. It's a responsibility, he's put forward. There are different forms or rather possibilities, with some players more or less expressive.
"I'm not going to look at the details because you also have to take into account the situation in which the club may find itself. These are elements that I don't have. It's not my daily routine.
"So, that's the responsibility of Christophe Galtier, his staff and his club. That's not part of my thinking."
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