Arsenal FC V Villarreal CF MATCH PRESS KIT Highbury, London Wednesday, 19 April 2006 - 20:45 CET Semi-Finals - Matchday 11
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Arsenal FC v Villarreal CF MATCH PRESS KIT Highbury, London Wednesday, 19 April 2006 - 20:45 CET Semi-finals - Matchday 11 It has been their home for 93 years and has staged 22 seasons of European football, but after this match the Highbury stadium will close for business as far as the continental game is concerned. As they take on Villarreal CF in what is both clubs© first UEFA Champions League semi-final, Arsenal FC are hoping to give the old place a memorable send-off. Spanish opposition again · The London team, who will move to a new stadium at nearby Ashburton Grove this summer, have got this far with knockout-round victories against Real Madrid CF and Juventus, who together can boast eleven title triumphs and 19 appearances in European Champion Clubs© Cup finals. Now Arsenal tackle another Spanish side but one which has defied expectations in their maiden campaign in the élite competition. Defensive strength · Unless they rely on penalties, Villarreal must do what none of Arsenal©s previous opponents have managed in 739 minutes ± namely score a goal. · In ten games Arsène Wenger©s men have conceded a mere two goals and none in the last eight as they established a record for clean sheets in the competition. No player has breached their defence since Markus Rosenberg scored for AFC Ajax with 19 minutes remaining of the Matchday 2 fixture in the Amsterdam ArenA. Unbeaten in nine · Since losing at home to Chelsea FC in the 2003/04 quarter-final second leg, the Gunners have played nine matches at Highbury in the tournament, winning six and drawing three. · The last victory came in the quarter-final against Juventus when goals in each half from Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry gave Arsenal a lead they never looked like relinquishing at the Stadio Delle Alpi.Their aggregate triumph meant they had come through the last-eight stage for the first time in three attempts. · That strike took Henry©s tally to five in this season©s competition. Assuming he plays in the semi-final first leg, he will be chasing his 50th goal in European football in his 101st appearance in UEFA club competition. Away win · In the first knockout round Arsenal, in their eighth successive UEFA Champions League campaign, did the damage at the Santiago Bernabéu, winning by a single Henry goal, before holding Madrid to a scoreless draw at Highbury. · The return game emphasised that Arsenal do not easily overturn Spanish opponents on their own ground. In seven home ties in the tournament their record is not wholly convincing with two defeats and two draws against Spanish visitors, though one of the reverses came while they were staging home matches at Wembley. Two losses · Arsenal twice lost in the UEFA Cup Winners© Cup final to Spanish sides. Valencia CF were victors in 1979/80 and Real Zaragoza triumphed in the 1994/95 showpiece. The latter defeat came at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the host city for this year©s UEFA Champions League final. First tie · Highbury©s first European Cup game was Arsenal©s 4-0 first round second-leg success against Norwegian club Strùmsgodset IF on 29 September 1971 with Ray Kennedy scoring the opening goal on six minutes. Arsenal had won the first leg 3-1, completing a 7-1 aggregate victory. Last Updated 18.4.2006 11:04:32CET uefa.com 1 Arsenal FC v Villarreal CF MATCH PRESS KIT Group winners · After qualifying for the tournament for the first time, Villarreal have continued to gain in strength and confidence, topping a group that included Manchester United FC and SL Benfica, and remaining unbeaten over the six games. Crucial away strikes · In the first knockout round, a 2-2 draw at Rangers FC was followed by a 1-1 scoreline at El Madrigal with Rodolfo Arruabarrena©s equaliser early in the second half proving crucial as it enabled Manuel Pellegrini©s men to progress on away goals. · Villarreal then suffered their first defeat in the competition, 2-1 at FC Internazionale Milano in the quarter-final first leg after Diego Forlán had handed them a surprise lead. In the return, full-back Arruabarrena©s second-half header secured a 1-0 victory and another triumph on away goals. Two©s the most · No Villarreal player has scored more than two UEFA Champions League goals so far with Arruabarrena, Forlán and Juan Román Riquelme all on that total. English encounters · Before this season Villarreal had not played a competitive match in England ± their only meeting with Premiership opposition coming at home to Middlesbrough FC in last term©s UEFA Cup group stage, a 2-0 success. · After finishing third in the Primera División, Villarreal©s UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie took them to Everton FC©s Goodison Park where they won 2-1 with first-half goals from Luciano Figueroa and Josico. They repeated the scoreline in the return with Juan Pablo Sorín and Forlán on target. Goalless home and away draws with United followed in the group stage. Recent form best · For the game at El Madrigal on 25 April, Arsenal will be seeking to repeat the form of their last two trips to Spain when they recorded victories. Before that, their previous five UEFA Champions League matches in that country had brought four straight defeats and a draw. · With the return in mind, Villarreal will also know they have not lost in six home games in this season©s competition including the third qualifying round. They have only shipped three goals in total, and never more than one in a match. Match facts · No Arsenal player has played every minute of their ten UEFA Champions League games this season. · Spanish duo Cesc Fabregas and José Antonio Reyes are the only Arsenal players to have played some part in each of the ten matches. · Reyes will lose that record against Villarreal as his yellow card against Juventus on Matchday 10 means he has picked up a one-match ban. · Kolo Touré is one caution away from a suspension, as is Mathieu Flamini after his early booking against Juventus in Turin. · Henry made his 75th appearance in the UEFA Champions League proper in the first leg against Juventus. He then made it a century of UEFA club competition matches in the Turin return but he remains a goal away from 50 in European action. Last Updated 18.4.2006 11:04:32CET uefa.com 2 Arsenal FC v Villarreal CF MATCH PRESS KIT · Ashley Cole is six matches away from his 50th game in the UEFA Champions League, having never played any other UEFA club competition games. · Lauren is three matches away from his 75th appearance in UEFA club competition. · Aside from sitting out on Matchday 1, Flamini has not missed a minute for Arsenal in Europe this season. · Theo Walcott, yet to make his European debut, turned 17 last month. If he finds the net against Villarreal, he will become the youngest scorer in UEFA Champions League history. · Henry is on the UEFA Champions League top scorers© list for this season with five goals. Andriy Shevchenko leads the way with nine. · Reyes has provided three goals for team-mates. Only Samuel Eto©o, Johan Micoud and Steven Pienaar have a better creative record in this season©s competition. · Reyes has been fouled more times (44) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season. · On 7 April, Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann confirmed that Jens Lehmann will be his No1 goalkeeper at the FIFA World Cup, with FC Bayern München©s Oliver Kahn demoted to understudy. · Arsenal FC©s preparation for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final is a far cry from the rest days that preceded their match against Juventus in the quarter-final first leg at Highbury. · On that occasion Arsène Wenger©s men©s match with Portsmouth FC was called off due to a waterlogged pitch giving them ten days rest before playing the Italian giants. This time around, though, the Premiership side have had just three days to recover from a demanding spell of four matches in ten days. · Aleksandr Hleb, Robert Pirès and Dennis Bergkamp were on target in the 3-1 win against West Bromwich Albion FC on Saturday. · Particularly pleasing for Bergkamp was the fact that his goal came on ©Supporters' Day© ± which Arsenal fans dedicated to the Dutchman. The occasion was marked by sections of the Highbury crowd donning orange T-shirts in tribute to their iconic Dutch striker, who is set to leave at the end of the season. · A testimonial in Bergkamp©s honour has been provisionally planned against his former club AFC Ajax on 22 July. It will be the club©s first game at their new stadium at Ashburton Grove. · Saturday©s success was Arsenal©s fourth consecutive home league win - the first time they have managed such a run since May 2005 - and fifth straight victory at Highbury. · Arsène Wenger will be hoping that the omens are good, given that a 5-0 win against another Midlands side, Aston Villa FC, preceded their quarter-final aggregate success against Juventus. · Saturday©s win kept Arsenal within four league points of Tottenham Hotspur FC, who remain in fourth place in the Premiership after winning at Everton FC and then losing against Manchester United FC on Monday, but meet Arsenal in the north London derby next Saturday. · Arsenal were without Fabregas for the visit of West Brom after the midfielder suffered a recurrence of the foot problem he suffered against Aston Villa FC two weeks ago.