Nicolas Pepe’s penalty gave Arsenal a lifeline after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final first leg in Spain on Thursday evening.

Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol gave Villarreal the lead at La Ceramica, with Arsenal’s chances of qualifying looked to be slipping away after Dani Ceballos was shown a second yellow card early in the second half.

However, the Gunners managed to grab an away goal when Nicolas Pepe converted a penalty in the 73rd minute, before Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue also saw red with 10 minutes left to play as the game ended 2-1 in favour of the Spanish side.

WATCH: Villarreal 2-1 Arsenal