Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said qualifying to the UEFA Champions League final caps a huge effort exerted over almost a decade at Highbury. "This completes the work of nine years for me and my staff, and is reward for the confidence Arsenal have placed in me," Wenger told a press conference after a goalless draw at Villarreal on Tuesday. "I'm very happy to get to Paris as Arsenal were not expected to be there and now we've finally got to the final gave a very good performance." The Premiership side advanced to the final for the first time in history after a 1-0 aggregate win over Villarreal courtesy to a first-leg strike from Ivorian defender Kolo Toure.
Lehmann Wenger admitted that the home side were better but said Arsenal deserve to be in the final this year. "They played well tactically and technically, and one of the reasons they were better is that they were fresher physically because on Saturday they were able to rest players when they played in the Primera Division," he said. "Despite not playing as well as we can, we deserve to be in the final because we have eliminated Juventus, Real Madrid and Villarreal." The Frenchman praised Jens Lehmann's last-gasp effort to block a Juan Roman Riquelme spot-kick that could have tied the game. "Before the penalty I said to myself that if it is our year, Jens will save it. I knew he had strength of character, and I knew he would not be beaten easily," he said.
