Arsenal Through to UCL final

Arsenal are through to the Champions League Final. Yes, is finally true. There were a very nervous 90 odd mins at the Madrigal but in the end the gunners emerged victorious. All credit to Villareal who played well and could have easily got a goal. There was of course lots of play acting and diving by them and the penalty given to them was atrocious to say the least.

Jose Mari has the reputation of going down very easily and he got his team a penalty right at the end. I thought "Here we go". But, Lehmann saved it and the look on Riquelme s face said it all.He was distraught and though it was sad to see him like that, the gunners must have been ecstatic. Lehmann ignored Titi s advice that Riquelme might wait for him to dive to one side and then dink it in the middle.He went to the left and got a decent contact.Riquelme was so crestfallen that he didnt even bother to look for the rebound of Lehmann.He knew than that he had spurned a glorious chance.Had that got in, I am sure that Villareal would have been favourites to go through.

Arsenal were on the receiving end of sustained pressure from the home side and you just had that feeling that they were sitting back too much.There were hardly any goal scoring chances for Arsenal whose only chance came right at the death when Henry had a 1 on 1 with the goalie but failed to score. I thought that Toure and Gilberto were awesome. The Brazilian didnt allow Riquelme to settle and man marked him beautifully. Campbell had a decent game on his return. Clichy also played well after Flamini had to retire with a pull in his hammie. Eboue didnt attack at all and i think he was under strict instructions to not let Sorin out of sight even if that meant that he had to sacrfice going forwards. Reyes was a big disappointment and Wenger might have to think whether to start with him in the finals. Freddy and Helb worked their guts out and helped the defense.

But the real hero of the night was Jens Lehmann. I have been very critical of him over the last 2 seasons but i think that he is now showing that why at 33, Arsene got him and made him No.1. He is now repaying the trust the gaffer had in him and according to me he has been the best goalie in Europe this season. He might again prove to be the difference in the final...lets see.

But the job is not done yet..Barca await us and what a final it will be. Henry and Ronaldinho on the pitch at the same time. A mouth watering prospect.