Arsenal vs Rennes: Unai Emery refuses to rise to Hatem Ben Arfa jibe

In the wake of Rennes’ 3-1 victory over Arsenal, the Frenchman said he had found himself laughing at an ‘agitated’ Emery during the fixture

Unai Emery has refused to rise to Hatem Ben Arfa's taunts ahead of tonight’s Europa League last-16 clash, saying he has nothing but respect for the Rennes midfielder.

In the wake of Rennes’ 3-1 victory over Arsenal in the first leg, the Frenchman said he had found himself laughing at an “agitated” Emery during the fixture.

“My motivation was to play a solid match, to win and get ourselves into a good position to go through,” said Ben Arfa.

“That’s what was in my head. But I did see the same Emery, as agitated as ever. I looked over at him a few times and that made me laugh a little. He hasn’t changed.”

Arsenal will be looking to overturn the two-goal deficit in this evening’s second-leg, last-16 tie when they welcome the Ligue 1 outfit to the Emirates.

And ahead of the match, Emery casually dismissed Ben Arfa’s teasing words, insisting instead that his focus was on the game.

“He’s a very good player and we respect him a lot,” said Emery.

“My focus is on preparing for the match against Rennes and on each player with his quality. We respect them and him a lot.”