Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann revealed the secret to his spotkick success last night - ignore Arsenal captain Thierry Henry!
The German keeper brilliantly saved Juan Riquelme's penalty when Gunners hearts looked set to be broken just two minutes from time.
Lehmann said: "The thing in football is you can be close to being in hell and then you can rise to heaven just like that.
"A couple of days ago I started thinking Riquelme would probably take the penalties.
"I said to myself he would probably go to my left, because of his body shape.
"Thierry Henry came up and gave me a tip. But I ignored it!"
Hero Lehmann was right. His stunning block kept out the Argentine star, after Gael Clichy had been pulled up for a foul on Jose Mari, and Arsene Wenger's men are now booked in to face Barcelona or AC Milan in Paris on May 17.
Jubilant boss Wenger said: "As Riquelme was running up to take his kick, I said to myself 'If this really is our year, Jens will save it'.
"I knew he would not be beaten easily and, with so much pressure on Riquelme, it was the character and determination of Jens which won through.
"He deserves so much credit to be where he is now, considering where he was when he first came to us.
"He has shown everyone what a fine keeper he is this season. And you can all see I made the right decision when I dropped him last season!
"The final will be the completion of 9½ years of hard work for me at Arsenal.
"I am very happy to be there at last when nobody expected it. Now I have every right to believe we can win the trophy."
The German keeper brilliantly saved Juan Riquelme's penalty when Gunners hearts looked set to be broken just two minutes from time.
Lehmann said: "The thing in football is you can be close to being in hell and then you can rise to heaven just like that.
"A couple of days ago I started thinking Riquelme would probably take the penalties.
"I said to myself he would probably go to my left, because of his body shape.
"Thierry Henry came up and gave me a tip. But I ignored it!"
Hero Lehmann was right. His stunning block kept out the Argentine star, after Gael Clichy had been pulled up for a foul on Jose Mari, and Arsene Wenger's men are now booked in to face Barcelona or AC Milan in Paris on May 17.
Jubilant boss Wenger said: "As Riquelme was running up to take his kick, I said to myself 'If this really is our year, Jens will save it'.
"I knew he would not be beaten easily and, with so much pressure on Riquelme, it was the character and determination of Jens which won through.
"He deserves so much credit to be where he is now, considering where he was when he first came to us.
"He has shown everyone what a fine keeper he is this season. And you can all see I made the right decision when I dropped him last season!
"The final will be the completion of 9½ years of hard work for me at Arsenal.
"I am very happy to be there at last when nobody expected it. Now I have every right to believe we can win the trophy."
