Arsenal ran riot against Villarreal at Emirates

Arsenal are now in the Champions League semi-final after sweeping past Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium. Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie were on the scoresheet as Arsene Wenger's youngsters defied their injury worries in defence to wrap up the tie within an hour. The Spaniards had Sebastian Eguren dismissed, and the hosts were then able to conserve energy for their FA Cup clash against Chelsea at the weekend. If they win at Wembley there will be genuine hope of getting something out a season where many predicted them to slip out of the traditional top four in England. Wenger himself admits he has been amazed by how his young players have gone 18 Barclays Premier League games without defeat - and this performance will have impressed him too. But nothing has been easy at Arsenal this season. Earlier in the campaign William Gallas was stripped of the captaincy, now Wenger is desperately short on numbers in at the back. Ahead of this clash, Bacary Sagna was taken ill, meaning an entire back four was missing as Arsenal protected their slender away-goals advantage. Kolo Toure held together a defence that contained Emmanuel Eboue at right-back, Kieran Gibbs at left-back and inexperienced Lucasz Fabianski in goal.

Villarreal had problems of their own, with Marcos Senna, the cornerstone of their midfield, out injured. They did have Robert Pires stationed on the left flank, meaning it was Arsenal's past versus the club's future, as Walcott was raiding down the right.
It was a fascinating clash, with Walcott almost putting the ball out of play early on when Pires picked up a knock, only to carry on with the ball to set up an attack.
The 20-year-old showed his ruthless side again when he netted the opener in the 10th minute.
Eboue slipped the ball forward from the right, Cesc Fabregas' flick allowed Walcott to run through on goal, with the England winger chipping home high over goalkeeper Diego Lopez.



It was reward for Arsenal's bright start after Van Persie went close with a header that cleared the crossbar and a long-range effort that Lopez gathered at the second attempt.
The hosts were inches from adding a second goal after Van Persie's powerful free-kick was saved by Lopez. Adebayor's follow-up header got deflected on target but Gonzalo Rodriguez hacked off the line. All eyes were on the assistant referee but it would have been the tightest of calls if he had flagged for a goal. The equation for Villarreal shifted only slightly - they still needed a goal.
Diego Godin had given Wenger's side an early scare when he got on the end of Giuseppe Rossi's free-kick and forced Fabianski into a save with his scissor-kick. The visitors then caused some nervous moments in Arsenal's defence before the break, with Rossi getting sight of goal at the near post before the hosts scrambled clear. Pires also had a shot blocked from the edge of the area, while Godin headed over from a corner in first-half stoppage-time. Manuel Pellegrini's men sensed that it was their time to apply pressure on Arsenal's makeshift defence. It meant all hands on deck for Wenger's makeshift back line. Arsenal's best option was to counter attack. Van Persie was making runs from deep to cause Villarreal problems, with Godin picking up a booking for stopping one run. No opponent got close enough to Van Persie on the hour mark and he sent through Adebayor, who took one touch before finishing past Lopez with the outside of his boot.
The third came from Van Persie's penalty and also saw Eguran dismissed. Godin took Walcott's legs away in the penalty area but escaped a second booking for the offence. Eguran, who got a yellow card in the first half, got another caution for dissent and then disgracefully put his hands on the referee while protesting more. Van Persie kept his nerve and fired in the spot-kick.
Wenger's goalscorers were then given a breather to rest for the battles ahead.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s madcap risk-taking rewarded in stunning fashion

Manchester United has portrayed the match as a moment for risk-taking. Instead, they went tactically about the business of becoming the first English club to beat Porto on their own ground in European competition. Porto love a late goal and Manchester United rarely make life easy for themselves in Europe, but come the final whistle at the Estádio do Dragão last night, Sir Alex Ferguson was able to reflect on a job well done. They finally seem to rediscover their self-belief that have been terribly lacking in past few weeks.The outcome is beneficial for holders who are now in better shape to make a successful defence of the Champions League, even if they will have to deal Arsenal in a semi-final whose first leg is at Old Trafford. United appear gradually to be regaining authority, and spectacle was confined last night to the remarkable long-range goal from Christiano Ronaldo in the sixth minute.

Arsenal will certainly beware the wounded animal. Ferguson’s reward for this victory, in his 150th Champions League match as United manager, is a mouthwatering semi-final showdown against his old rival Arsène Wenger. Their rivalry may not be what it once was, but if ever there was a tie that could rekindle old fires, it is this, and given the cavalier tendencies of both teams, it is a contest that will be almost impossible to call.

Come to the last night, United flaunted maturity by imposing control. Nemanja Vidic may have headed away several crosses in the second half but it is hard to bring to mind vivid images of Edwin van der Sar pulling off a taxing save. One of Porto's spasmodic moments of clarity did leave Cristian Rodríguez with a real opportunity in the 25th minute but his shot asked little of the goalkeeper.

United were, however, masters of their own fate again. After conceding 11 goals in their previous five games, resilience was resurgent. Rio Ferdinand's comeback from injury contributed but dramatic exploits were never essential. Perhaps his presence simply spreads confidence in the ranks and there was only one name on everyone’s lips last night.

With Dimitar Berbatov again flattering to deceive and Wayne Rooney looking unhappy marooned on the right-hand side, it is doubtful. Fresh speculation about Ronaldo’s future had surfaced before kick-off when Ramón Calderón, the former Real Madrid president, claimed that a world-class player, understood to be Ronaldo, had a formal agreement to join the Spanish champions in the summer, but it is easy to see why Ferguson is prepared to put up with all manner of irritability to keep the forward. Ronaldo did not have his best game, but his twentieth goal of the season — a remarkable tally given that he has performed with an apparent indifference for much of the campaign — would nonetheless prove decisive, a telling reminder of just what he brings to this United team.

There was nothing on when Ronaldo collected Anderson’s pass 40 yards from goal, but within seconds, the ball was fizzing its way past Helton into the top left corner to the astonishment of everyone in the ground. Even by the Portugal forward’s high standards, it was a stupendous strike, one that he celebrated wildly while manhandled by his team-mates.

The visitors, of course, had no need to swagger over being 1-0 up. United knew that a leveller would put Porto ahead on the away-goals rule. Such a turn of events was theoretically within the scope of a side that had, predictably, located a trace of conviction at the interval.

Efforts that missed the target still stirred the crowd. United had no intention of retreating, but they were forced to look a shade more passive. The risks were apparent when Patrice Evra committed an ungainly foul close to his 18-yard line. The set piece came to nothing, yet Porto would have grown in conviction if they had caught a glimpse of fallibility.

Ferguson will hope it is onwards and upwards from here, even if Wenger might have something to say about that.