Eight years have passed since Unai Emery signed Dani Parejo for Valencia. A lot has happened since then to the pair who will face each other in Thursday night's second leg.

Emery left the club, won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla, joined Paris Saint Germain and then Arsenal.

Parejo stayed to become club captain and full Spain international. He’s seen 10 managers hired and fired since Emery; Gary Neville and current Wolves boss Nuno among them.

Valencia midfielder Dani Parejo praised Unai Emery for the work that he did at the club

Parejo is now looking to knock Arsenal's Emery out of the Europa League

Arsenal boss Emery was in charge of Valencia from 2008 to 2012

So is it true what most players say about Emery: very good, but very heavy-going? ‘He’s a very good coach. His stats are there for all to see,’ says Parejo. ‘He’s done incredible, amazing things and it’s admirable. It’s also true what they say that coaches always have something special that sets them apart.

‘He is a perfectionist: there’s a lot of work, a lot of videos, a lot of talks, an it’s true that players can get tired of it; that he’s a bit ‘pesado’ (heavy). That’s the way he is.’

Emery has admitted as much himself over the years. There’s the tale of him regularly giving one player a pen drive containing videos of his next opponent, and suspecting that he was not watching them, giving him a blank video to catch him out. ‘Yes that happened here [with Jeremy Mathieu],’ Parejo laughs.

Parejo revealed that former Valencia defender Miguel fell asleep during Emery's video analysis

Winger Joaquin famously said Emery’s videos were so long he would ‘run out of popcorn’.

Cue more laughter from Parejo. ‘Miguel Brito (former Valencia full-back) fell asleep one day,’ he says.

‘I avoided the pen-drives because they used to be given more to the defenders. When they give you a bite-sized chunk of information it helps of course it does. But if a talk goes on for 20, 25 minutes, your attention wanes.’

There is respect for Emery and an admission that their paths crossed when Parejo was only 22, barely a season at Real Madrid and a loan spell at QPR behind him.

‘The first time I got kicked in England, it was a direct red,’ he says of the Loftus Road experience. ‘As I left the ground I said to my dad: “where have we come to? We have to go back to Spain.’

Parejo made 18 appearances during a loan spell at QPR in the 2008-09 campaign

He played 18 matches in that 2008-09 season, was happy living in Brentford with his dad and mum who he says built up an impressive English vocabulary shopping to cook for her son.

‘Onion, carrots, green peppers, all those words she knows perfectly.’ He went back to Spain with an important keepsake. ‘I always keep shirts. I’ve got that very cool shirt with the hoops. And I’ve got the black and yellow away shirt from that season too.’

Via a return to Madrid he was signed by Emery. There have been plenty of highs and lows since. Wolves boss Nuno was a definite high.

‘He was excellent with us,’ he says. ‘We finished fourth getting 77 points which I think equalled the best season in the club’s history.

Parejo believes Valencia can knock Arsenal out despite the Gunners having a 2-0 lead

‘The following year the expectations were so high. When they sacked him we were still alive in the Champions League, and only a few points off in the league.’

When that season ended the club was just six points from relegation. What happened? Among many other things, Gary Neville happened.

‘It was difficult because we were not in the best situation and the [new] maanger did not speak Spanish and he didn’t really know Spanish football that well,’ Parejo says.

‘If a coach does not speak the same language as his players it’s difficult to get your message across? You always have to go through the translator and it’s not the same. And when you have to really push the players it shows. You can’t shout and swear through a translator.’

And it will not have helped that Neville had never managed.

‘It’s true that he was the second coach with England at the time. But that is not the same as being the number one. It must be tough to come to a different country and a different culture with a new language and be the number one and fronting up for everything.’

Parejo endured a difficult time when Gary Neville was in charge of Valencia

If the Neville era was no fun for the manager it wasn’t much fun for Parejo.

He had defended Nuno so when the coach was sacked and form did not pick up he became the target for abuse. Neville took the armband from him.

‘In the end it was a mutual decision,’ he says. ‘I had become the face of the defeats and I have no problem with that but I spoke with the manager and he had been Manchester United captain and so he knew what it was like.’

Parejo’s 11 coaches, including Emery, almost became 12 in January when Marcelino was called to Singapore to meet the owners.

As he had done with Nuno, Parejo stood up for his manager hugging him in a very public goal celebration.

Marcelo was not sacked and has turned the season around. Parejo is top scorer and ready for his former manager on Thursday night.

The first leg has given them one hell of a job but all hope is not lost. ‘Arsenal are a great team,’ he says. ‘But if you want to lift the trophy you have to get past some great teams.’