Wanted: winning farewell to stadium with a soul

ARSENE WENGER is ready to ensure the Highbury faithful witness a fitting send off to the last European tie at the “special” old stadium in north London tonight.

With the Gunners preparing for life at their 60,000-seater home in Ashburton Grove from next season, the visit of Villarreal for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final will clearly take on extra significance.

Having transformed Arsenal on the pitch, it is now perhaps appropriate it should be Wenger who will lead his emerging side out at the impressive Emirates Stadium in August as the club look to enter a new era.

But the Frenchman who took charge in September 1996 admits Highbury will always hold a special place in his heart.

"Highbury has that roof, with the metal posts coming down, that makes it a stadium from another age," reflected the Arsenal manager, who had hoped to buy one of the flats which will be built on the site in Avenell Road only to find someone had beaten him to it and snapped up the prime spot at the home dugout.

"The contrast with the pitch is nowhere better in the world. For me, that is something special. I sensed there was a special soul in the stadium, because it is a little bit strange, and you cannot have that feeling anywhere else."

He recalled: "When you first arrive to Highbury, you do not expect it you are saying 'where is the stadium? where is the stadium?' and then suddenly you are in front of it.

"You do not know why it is in the middle of the city. You are used to that here, but on the Continent we are not used to that you see the stadium from three miles away.

"What I always like in England is that you feel the club belongs to the population around there you can go out of the door and go to a football game.

"That does not exist anywhere else. That is specific to Highbury, to Liverpool, to the English game. They were built for the people."

Wenger has guided his side to the domestic league title and FA Cup double on two occasions, as well as the UEFA Cup final in 2000. Europe's top club prize, however, has continued to allude the former Monaco coach.

Wenger, though, still maintains the feats of 2003/2004 will always give him great pride.

"To be a whole season unbeaten. For me, yes because it is the biggest achievement."

As to whether winning the Champions League this year would surpass that achievement, Wenger reflected: "I do not know. I would love to give you that answer, but I am just focussed on tomorrow."

Wenger's side are also aiming for fourth place in the Premiership, and the Arsenal boss accepted: "In six days, we play a big part of our season.

"But on the other hand, we could sit in front of the television and watch somebody else play the semi-finals, so you can just love it and enjoy it, think 'we have worked very hard to get where we are and let's just go for it'."

Villarreal, like the Gunners, have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time and on their debut season in the competition having knocked out Everton from the qualifiers and finished ahead of Manchester United in the group stages.

"I do not believe the hard work has been done," Wenger declared. "The hardest work is always the next step. I really deeply feel Villarreal are a very good team, and that they have all the ingredients in every position to give you problems."

Juan Roman Riquelme is the playmaker who could wreck Wenger's plans but the

Arsenal coach insisted: "We will not man mark Riquelme. He is such a strong personality you wonder how he left Barcelona because they would have been stronger with him.

"But Villarreal made a good catch and one of the keys of the game will be for us to keep him quiet. But we will not man-mark him. The distribution comes from Riquelme and that is where they are dangerous mainly for his delivery. He is the leading figure in the team.

"It is a little bit like European football against South American football. It makes it always very difficult for the Europeans to beat a South American side because they put you at a pace they dictate and therefore they find a moment they choose to kill you off softly."

Midfielder Cesc Fabregas is fit for tonight's clash, Wenger confirmed.

"Fabregas trained and will be available for tomorrow," he said.

ARSENAL (probable): Lehmann; Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini; Hleb, Gilberto, Pires, Fabregas, Ljungberg; Henry.

VILLARREAL (possible): Barbosa; Venta, Cesar Arzo, Alvarez, Arruabarrena; Sorin, Senna, Tacchinardi, Riquelme; Jose Mari, Forlan

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)