Toure gives Arsenal advantage

Wednesday, 19, Apr 2006 10:14

Kolo Toure's first-half goal has given Arsenal the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Villarreal.

The Gunners will take a 1-0 lead to Spain for next week's second-leg after the Ivory Coast international prodded home Alexander Hleb's cross on 41 minutes.

However, it will remain to be seen if the Gunners will be punished for failing to extend their lead in an edgy game which saw few clear-cut chances.

In their final European game at Highbury before they move to their new ground at Ashburton Grove, Arsenal would have been looking to give their fans a performance to remember and they almost took the lead inside four minutes as Thierry Henry's drilled free-kick from the left found Toure but the defender put his shot wide from close range.

Henry then had the ball in the net on 12 minutes but his strike was harshly denied by an offside flag.

Arsenal continued to press but it took until four minutes before the break for them to go in front as Henry fed Hleb from a short corner and the Belarusian's cross was turned in from close range by Toure.

The home side nearly threw their advantage away before the break though as Gilberto Silva tangled with striker Jose Mari and was fortunate not to give a penalty away.

However, despite their defensive frailties on the night, Arsenal did look confident going forward and Henry almost made it two but his shot was cleared off the line by Cesar Arzo.

Despite this, they struggled to break the Spanish side down for the remainder of the half as both sides looked to stick with what they had for the second-leg next Tuesday.