Villarreal

0-0

Arsenal

Riquelme missed pen 90

 

 


UEFA Champions League Semi-Final
Second Leg
Tuesday 25 April, 2006
Estadio El Madrigal

Arsenal took a definitive step in a remarkable European quest on Tuesday; with their tenth successive clean sheet in the Champions League the North London side made it to their first ever Final of the competition and a showdown with either AC Milan or Barcelona in Paris.

It is another example of the strides being taken by English clubs in European football as the Gunners make it the second successive English club to reach the Champions League final, following the incredible victory by Liverpool in Istanbul last May.

The success of Arsenal in reaching the Final makes it the first time in 21 years that English clubs have made it to successive European Cup Finals, with Liverpool reaching the Final in '84 and '85.

This together with Middlesbrough's stirring run in the UEFA Cup shows the competitive nature of English football is improving when it comes to taking on foreign teams, and that success can only bode well as England travel to Germany for the World Cup.

Chelsea have also made their mark on European football in the past three seasons, making it to successive Semi-Finals and cementing their reputation as one of Europe's top sides.

For now though the glory is all Arsenal's as they celebrate making it to a Paris final on 17 May, and the hero of the night was undoubtedly Jens Lehmann. The German keeper saved a last minute penalty from Roman Riquelme to prevent the game going into extra-time.

After knocking out the European giant in Real Madrid and Juventus in previous rounds, Arsenal made it past a stubborn and gifted Villarreal side that was, like Madrid and Juve before them, unable to breach the Gunners backline.

Steven Gerrrard believes Arsenal's remarkable run to the Champions League Final is a major boost for English football - and proves the game here is as healthy as ever. Gerrard lifted the famous trophy last season following Liverpool's astonshing comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul.

And he proved an inspiration to Thierry Henry - who paid tribute to Gerrard immediately after guiding the Gunners to Paris with a 0-0 draw against Villarreal.

The Arsenal captain said: "I just want to say to Stevie Gerrard, if he is watching, he has been an inspiration for us all. I really admire the guy. He deserved to be named PFA Player of the Year."

Now Liverpool and England star Gerrard has insisted that Arsenal's run to the final is good not just for Gunners fans for the whole game.

He said: "Our league’s getting stronger and stronger all the time - I think you can see that in Europe because each year in the Champions League the English teams are doing better and better.

"We won it last year and as you know we were underdogs and I think Arsenal are going to do the same.

"I think certain teams underestimate the strength of the English teams and credit to Arsenal, they’ve done fantastically well – I hope they go all the way. I was very confident they could get to the final. And from experience, you know, anything can happen in a final."

To see the record of English clubs in Europe over the last 50 years click here and to see the record of English clubs in the European Cup click here.