Arsenal are in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League Final!!

Even after dominating the game and coming close on a number of occasions. Villareal just couldn't score.

The referee, apparently sympathising with their inability to hit the back of the net, awarded them one of the softest penalties in the entire history of football.

There were just a few minutes to go.

Arsenal were on the back foot.

Surely a goal now would send the game into extra time and cause the young players' heads to drop.

Who should step up but Riquelme. The new Zidane. The "best player in the world".

The seconds ticked.

The cameras flashed.

Replays repeated on screens all over the world.

The ball lay prone on the spot, almost as if it desperately needed to get its 'fix' of contact with the sweet yellow goal net.

'Hit me Juan! Hit me into the net!!'

The whole crowd except one small red/redcurrant and white corner positioned themselves to roar into celebration.

Elbows in, fists clenched.

Riquelme eyeballed Lehmann.

Lehmann puffed up his chest and spread out his arms like a giant German dragon unfolding its wings.

Waiting...


The ref blew

Step... step... THUMP!

Riquelme hit the ball to Lehmann's left.

DU BIST MEIN!!

Lehmann saved!

The ball pounded into the ground. Almost frustrated that it was so, so close to touching the soft yellow net.

Arsenal scrambled for the ball.

Riquelme didn't move. He seemed momentarily lost in a silent world of his own. Staring at the ground in despondency.

Lehmann!! Lehmann!! Lehmann!!

After the match Forlan described Riquelme's mood:

"He is obviously very gutted."



Some people will probably go on about how Arsenal played badly.

A more accurate description would probably be that they played like a team that had played 3 very hard games in 6 days.

Hleb looked too tired to run for almost the whole game.

Tired legs gave away possession again and again and again.

But when the full time whistle came, the defence still hadn't conceded and Arsenal were now in the final.

The UEFA Champions League Final.


Next up, Sunderland.

Forget about the game.

It wasn't much of a game anyway.

A few sentences should sum it up.

Team line ups... Arsenal pic 'n' mix squad rotation side Vs Spurs strongest side.

Spurs play well, Arsenal play like a side waiting for Tuesday.

Thierry, Eboue and Cesc come on.

Gilberto and Eboue colide.

Spurs try to take the unfair advantage.

Keane scores.

Arsene fumes.

Thierry equalises.

Davids walks.

Ref blows.

The end.


All of a sudden, the media's anti Arsenal brigade have an excuse to spout their usual gibberish.

'Ooohh... Look at Wenger, he's so angry... He should apologise for his unjustified behaviour... It's not in the rules... blah, blah, blah...'

I'd like to see their response if this happened in the World Cup.

England V's Argentina.

Veron plays on and passes to Riquelme, who sets up Crespo for a goal as Neville Lies on the pitch after colliding with Gerrard.

'Oh, those South Americans!... They don't know anything about fair play!... They're always rolling around on the floor, diving... Why should we expect them to understand the fair play we practice in this country!?...'


Anyway, the way things stand, winning the Champions League has become even more important, so the best way to shut the anti Arsenal brigade up again is to win on Tuesday.

Next up, Villareal.

Before the season started if you had said to me...

'Arsenal will reach the second leg of the semi finals of the Champions League, being 1-0 up against a mid table side from Spain who draw the majority of their matches.'

I would probably have said...

'That would be nice, wouldn't it.'

A few months into the season if you had said to me...

'Arsenal will reach the second leg of the semi finals of the Champions League, being 1-0 up against a mid table side from Spain who draw the majority of their matches.'

I would probably have laughed at you.

Well now I'm sitting here writing that Arsenal have reached the second leg of the semi finals of the Champions League, 1-0 up against a mid table side from Spain who draw the majority of their matches!

It's a good scoreline rather than a great one, but its an important advantage none the less.

The new record of not conceding a goal set by a 'makeshift' defence had another 90 minutes added to it, as Villareal failed to get on the scoresheet.

In the end, all the hype about Riquelme being the best player in the world, and able to control the direction of the wind with his passing or whatever nonsense they were coming out with didn't help them at all.

It wasn't a classic by any means.

A goal from Kolo and a hack from Gilberto shaped the whole game.

Gilberto has really started to toughen up recently. He's been chasing opposition players and offering them out after the match and all sorts of stuff.

Go Gilberto!

He managed to blatantly foul Jose Mari in the area...

No Gilberto!

…but the ref didn't give it, so it was alright.

Arsenal dominated, with Hleb and Eboue seeming to play together on a Yorke and Cole type wavelength.

5 of their players were booked, whilst no Arsenal player was. That means that they might have a few thought's running through their mind in the 2nd leg like; 'If i get booked again, I'll miss the final!'

Reyes should be back for that game.

I think he'll raise his game. He usually does when he goes back to Spain.

It's looks like it's going to be a tough few days though, with the derby coming up just 3 days before.

What will Arsene do?

Will he rest Cesc?

Will he rest Thierry??

Will he pick a team with Tuesday in mind???

Ooh, it's all getting really exciting now...!

Next up, spurs.

Two bad results in a row means that hopes of even paying 4th spot a brief visit before the season ends are fading fast.

Losing to the mancs wasn't too much of a suprise considering that almost every time any team plays a European game in midweek, they struggle the following weekend. So playing a resurgent man u who hadn't played in Europe for some time was clearly going to be difficult.

Although, from where I'm standing, it doesn't look like the Premiership results are going to make a vast improvement for a few reasons.

1. Being in the semi's of the Champions League against a 'small, mid table spanish side' will more than likely preoccupy the minds of half of the team.

2. As was the case last night, Arsene will try and rotate the squad as much as possible to keep players fresh, and as anyone knows, a constantly changing side rarely produces good results.

3. The team, as good as they are at home and against European opposition, still struggles away from Highbury in the premiership.

Last night was a very strange game.

Thierry was in super sulk mode.

I'm almost suprised he lasted the 90 minutes without having to go off with an injured neck, such was the amount of head shaking he was doing.

His goal was well taken, with a nice one-two with Adebayor that suggested that there is much more to come from their partnership.

In the end it was just an away performance typical of the away performances for most of the season.

Some nice play, but not good enough to take all 3 points.

Sol was back and for a first game back after so long out, he did well with Toure, even though he had to go off bloody nosed just before injury time.


So now Spurs need to drop points even if they lose at Highbury, or it looks like the only way into the Champions League next season is to win it.

Next up, the Baggies.

After completely battering The Old Lady in London, 0-0 was enough to send Arsenal through to the semi finals of the Champions League for the first time.

I remember trying to memorise Arsenal's important dates and records as a kid.

I had a small leaflet with them all listed.

I can barely remember any of them now, but after all of the mid-season problems, strangely enough, it's looking like 2006 might yet be another one to add.

I'm sure Barca are everyone's favourites, but I think that this Arsenal could destroy any team that lets them have time and space.

And for some reason I can't imagine Rijkaard, Ancelotti or Pellegrini changing the technical football that their teams play in favour of a Bolton style barrage.

Having said that, it did look like that was what Capello had decided to try.

Other than Nedved, their only threat seemed to come from long balls hoofed up to their front pair.

But with each late tackle and shirt tug that they made, it became more and more apparent that the Arsenal kids are getting stronger, and more able to mix it.

Since I saw Cesc yank michael ballack up off the ground by the scruff of the neck and shout into his face I've thought that he'd develop into a strong player, but it's players like Flamini, Reyes and Hleb who are starting to show signs of being able to cope with the aggression that was too much for them before.

Who knows, all those defeats to the bully boys might actually turn out to have been a good thing in the long term.

The premiership might have learned the best way to play against Arsenal, but maybe that's just made Arsenal better.

The big test comes against the Mancs.

The inventors of the anti-Arsenal style of play.

The leaders of the 'Kick Arsenal and win' school of thought.

Beating them at Old Trafford would surely show that Next-Generation Arsenal have finally arrived.

A 5-0 win over Aston Villa in one of the last sunny days that Arsenal are due to play at Highbury has got the pundits purring again.

The pace, power and technique of Arsenal's football against the likes of Real and Juve has given us a glimpse of how good this team could be.

If an 18 year old Cesc can dominate midfields containing the likes of Zidane, Vieira and Emerson, what could he do to them at the age of 26, 28 or 30?

If Kolo Toure and Philip Senderos can contain the likes of Raul, Ronaldo, Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic with such apparent ease whilst still in the early stages of forming a defensive partnership, how good might they be after playing together for 3 or 4 seasons?

If an Arsenal with big defensive injury problems can go 7 games in Europe without conceding a goal then how tight can the defence be with strong competition for places?

It's not just the eye candy football that's got football fans everywhere talking about this team, it's the sheer potential.

The likes of Van Persie, Reyes, Flamini, Hleb, Diaby and Adebayor are playing at a level most players 10 years their senior never reached.

Then there are the likes of Walcott, Lupoli, Djourou and Vela waiting to join in.

Add to this the new transfer budget that the new stadium is said to be bringing, and it's easy to see why anyone who likes watching football is getting excited about this team.

But...

Even after all of the hype, it's important to remember that this team IS still in transition.

Kids like Cesc, Eboue and Toure ARE still very young.

The team probably will STILL have a problem against the bully boys of the likes of Bolton and Blackburn.

The unbeaten side of 2004 had players like an experienced Sol Campbell at his very best.

A Vieira who seemed to play with the energy, strength and ability of two players in the middle of the pitch.

A Pires and a Ljungberg who were scoring at the rate of top stikers.

They had experience, they knew each others game, they had strength and the kind of desire that it took that night to come back from 2-1 down at half time against Liverpool.


So whilst this new Arsenal might be mesmerising the media with impressive displays against Europe's finest, the way I see it, it still has a little way to go before it can be considered a better team than Arsenal '04.

If they played each other, I think Cole '04 would expose Eboue, Bergkamp '04 would find the gaps behind Flamini and Campbell '04 and Keown would defend better than Senderos and Toure '06.

But then again, Arsenal '04 were at their peak.

They never got any better.


Arsenal '06 have only just started...