[Photos] Arsenal squad celebrate in dressing room after reaching Europa League final

The Arsenal players were understandably in buoyant mood after booking their place in the Europa League final with a 4-2 victory over Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium on Thursday night.

We headed to Spain holding a 3-1 advantage from the first leg and it looked like it was going to be a nervy night when Valencia reduced to deficit to 3-2 with an early Kevin Gameiro goal.

However, Arsenal took control of the tie thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to make it 5-2 on aggregate. Valencia pulled another one back but Aubameyang scored two more superb goals to seal his hat-trick and secure a 4-2 win at the Mestalla.

It means Arsenal progress to the final with a resounding 7-3 aggregate victory and we’ll now take on Premier League rivals Chelsea in the final later this month after they edged past Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.

It will be Arsenal’s first major European final since we lost to Barcelona in the Champions League back in 2006 so it’s no surprise the players were buzzing in the dressing room after the game last night.

The squad all posed for a team photo while Lacazette and Lucas Torreira couldn’t hide their delight after booking our place in Baku. Hat-trick hero Aubameyang also posed with the match-ball which was later signed by all the players and management.

After blowing our chance to finish in the top four in the league, we now have the opportunity to end the season on a high by winning the Europa League on May 29th. Victory would also see Arsenal return to the Champions League next season so we have another huge incentive to beat Chelsea.