Marcelino: "We have to attack Arsenal, but with good defensive balance"

The boost provided by the crowd at Mestalla, inspiration from Liverpool's win against Barcelona and ways to overturn a 3-1 first leg result were all on the agenda in Marcelino's pre-match press conference on Wednesday, as the clock ticks down to Thursday's UEFA Europa League semifinal meeting with Arsenal at home.

How VCF will face the game
"We need a 2-0 win. Intelligence and patience should be the virtues that we use to face the game, but that isn't a contrast to us playing with joy, with intensity and attacking the opposition goal permanently. When we don't have the ball, defending well could take us through to the final."

The keys to beating Arsenal
"We have to be intense and play together in defence, as well as using our strengths in attack. We have a plan for when we are attacking and a plan for when we defend, just like we had in London. We have to attack, but with good defensive balance, because Arsenal attack space very well and have players who are very good with the ball at their feet. We need to attack, because we require goals."

Mestalla
"It is unquestionable that we will have more of a chance of reaching the final if our fans are behind us from the opening whistle to the final whistle. We are going to have moments of difficulty against a great side, and that's when the fans' support will be most necessary. We will face the game from the opening minute convinced that we can beat Arsenal. That's what the players have transmitted to me with their words, the looks on their faces and their way of acting. They seem convinced, I am, and the fans seem to be as well."

"I think that the game in London was decided by small details at specific moments, in which we could have finished better, but we are up against top level players who make the most of any lapse. We can also make the most of things here.

The precedent from Anfield
"Every game is different. There's no reason why, just because Liverpool eliminated FC Barcelona, Valencia CF should beat Arsenal. We will go through because our players are convinced that they can do it, and get the result that takes us into the final.

"You can't take anything for granted in football, and anything can happen over the course of 90 minutes, whatever the previous result. The takeaway from that game is that, if we are perform at our highest level, we will have a chance of getting into the final."

The chance to make history
"It's a source of motivation. We might have thought in November or December that we wouldn't be in this situation. Thanks to the enormous job these players have done, they have taken us forward with ambition, attitude and commitment. People wanted to make out that we had failed when we didn't get through to the next stage of the Champions League, when we were in the same group as Manchester United and Juventus, and we are all excited about this feeling of being able to play in a final. It turns out that it wasn't such a failure."