Germany´s No.1 goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was Arsenal´s hero last night after a great performance with several important saves, while his team mates looked a bit shaky at the back due to big pressure from homeside Villarreal.


German goalkeeper Lehmann saved a late penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme as Arsenal booked their ticket to the final of the UEFA Champions League after claiming a 0-0 draw at Villarreal.
The penalty decision by referee Valentin Ivanov was a bit harsh, just 1 minute before the end of the match, but if Roman Juan Riquelme had converted, it would have sent the match into extra-time.


No great performance by Arsenal this evening, but who cares? Arsenal goes to the Final in Paris.



The match could not have been better analysed than by the two managers, Arsenal´s Arsene Wenger and Villarreal´s Manuel Pelegrini themselves. Arsene Wenger has conceded his Arsenal side were fortunate to overcome Villarreal. Wenger felt his side could have been eliminated from the Champions League in La Madrigal. Wenger told ITV:

"I thought we had extra time, but I had belief in Jens. We were a bit lucky tonight, but it is a fantastic achievement as this side has great character. We did not manage to play tonight; I don't know if it is physical or psychological. We could have won two or three at home but tonight we could have lost two or three. I never felt we got into our fluent game and after that you need a bit of luck and resilience. Even if we were not great, I am still proud of the character in the young team and also for the experienced players I am happy as well".

Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini was devastated after his team crashed out despite coming so close to eliminate Arsenal. Villarreal´s manager Manuel Pellegrini said:

"It's hard to explain how I feel. We were the better team, better than Arsenal were at Highbury and we deserved to be in the final. We had four or five clear chances to score and then the penalty and up until the last minute I thought we were going to do it. My players are very sad. I am proud of the way they played but they couldn't make it."

Tonight Europe´s No.1 ranked AC Milan plays No.2 FC Barcelona at Camp Nou in Barcelona. Barca won the first leg in Milan 1-0.

If Barca proceeds to the final in Paris, we will meet the other only unbeaten team of this year´s Champions League competition.

FC Barçelona and AC Milan have met ten times in official Champions League matches and the record in these matches could not be more even. Both sides, Barca and Milan have won 4, while just two of the games have ended in a draw. In all the games, Barça and Milan have scored in total 14 goals each. A further coincidence is that both sides have played 10 campaigns in the Champions League.