Straight Edge
04-05-2006, 10:56 PM
Arsenal eased through to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a comfortable 0-0 draw in Turin.
The Gunners, taking a 2-0 lead from the first leg to the Stadio Delle Alpi, were never in danger of losing against a poor Juventus side.
Arsene Wenger's side could have made their passage more comfortable after they split the Juventus defence on numerous occasions.
It was all too frustrating for Juve's Pavel Nedved, who was sent off.
With a two-goal lead in the bag, there would have been nothing from Juve's first-half performance to have worried Wenger.
He may have spent much of half-time considering his side could have stretched themselves even further away.
Certainly the Gunners' attacking endeavours were the more flowing of the two while the home side were continually frustrated either by a wayward pass in an advanced position or the presence of an offside flag.
From the moment Gilberto connected with Cesc Fabregas' cross and would have seen a solid connection beat Gianluigi Buffon, there was hope there.
The Italian press had talked about The Old Lady needing a miracle to battle through to the semi-finals and there was little evidence of one arriving.
Gianluca Zambrotta's volley that fizzed past the post may have caused a little concern but, just as they did at Highbury a week ago, the Arsenal defence looked in little danger.
All that would have disappointed Wenger was a harsh booking for time-wasting against Jose Antonio Reyes, which would rule him out of the semi.
And Matthieu Flamini, having already been booked for a foul on former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, received the benefit of the doubt for a hefty challenge on the ineffectual Nedved right on the half-time whistle.
With Alessandro del Piero sidelined through injury, it was difficult to see from where the creative spark Juventus so desperately required would arrive.
Every time they looked like puncturing the Arsenal defence, one of the Gunners, invariably Kolo Toure or Philippe Senderos, was present to make sure the danger did not materialise.
Only Buffon's swift reactions when he raced from his line prevented the home side from going behind when, in racing through, Thierry Henry uncharacteristically allowed the ball to slightly overrun.
There were inevitably a couple of scares at the other end.
David Trezeguet was unfortunate not to connect to Nedved's cross on the six-yard box and Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he had beaten Jens Lehmann when his shot from the edge of the box took a big deflection but the German goalkeeper was fully behind it.
He was also able to beat away a Nedved shot that seemed destined for the corner.
But, eventually the Czech maestro's frustration got the better of him as he was sent off with 13 minutes left for a second booking after a foul on Emmanuel Eboue.
Hleb could have sealed the victory late on but flashed his shot past the post and Freddie Ljungberg also fired wide when well placed.
Source: BBC Sport
Not really an Arsenal fan, but they did play well in the first leg against Juventus so they deserved the win. The next test will come against Villareal and I would bet on Arsenal making it to the final the same as Barcelona.
The Gunners, taking a 2-0 lead from the first leg to the Stadio Delle Alpi, were never in danger of losing against a poor Juventus side.
Arsene Wenger's side could have made their passage more comfortable after they split the Juventus defence on numerous occasions.
It was all too frustrating for Juve's Pavel Nedved, who was sent off.
With a two-goal lead in the bag, there would have been nothing from Juve's first-half performance to have worried Wenger.
He may have spent much of half-time considering his side could have stretched themselves even further away.
Certainly the Gunners' attacking endeavours were the more flowing of the two while the home side were continually frustrated either by a wayward pass in an advanced position or the presence of an offside flag.
From the moment Gilberto connected with Cesc Fabregas' cross and would have seen a solid connection beat Gianluigi Buffon, there was hope there.
The Italian press had talked about The Old Lady needing a miracle to battle through to the semi-finals and there was little evidence of one arriving.
Gianluca Zambrotta's volley that fizzed past the post may have caused a little concern but, just as they did at Highbury a week ago, the Arsenal defence looked in little danger.
All that would have disappointed Wenger was a harsh booking for time-wasting against Jose Antonio Reyes, which would rule him out of the semi.
And Matthieu Flamini, having already been booked for a foul on former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, received the benefit of the doubt for a hefty challenge on the ineffectual Nedved right on the half-time whistle.
With Alessandro del Piero sidelined through injury, it was difficult to see from where the creative spark Juventus so desperately required would arrive.
Every time they looked like puncturing the Arsenal defence, one of the Gunners, invariably Kolo Toure or Philippe Senderos, was present to make sure the danger did not materialise.
Only Buffon's swift reactions when he raced from his line prevented the home side from going behind when, in racing through, Thierry Henry uncharacteristically allowed the ball to slightly overrun.
There were inevitably a couple of scares at the other end.
David Trezeguet was unfortunate not to connect to Nedved's cross on the six-yard box and Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he had beaten Jens Lehmann when his shot from the edge of the box took a big deflection but the German goalkeeper was fully behind it.
He was also able to beat away a Nedved shot that seemed destined for the corner.
But, eventually the Czech maestro's frustration got the better of him as he was sent off with 13 minutes left for a second booking after a foul on Emmanuel Eboue.
Hleb could have sealed the victory late on but flashed his shot past the post and Freddie Ljungberg also fired wide when well placed.
Source: BBC Sport
Not really an Arsenal fan, but they did play well in the first leg against Juventus so they deserved the win. The next test will come against Villareal and I would bet on Arsenal making it to the final the same as Barcelona.