Lehmann came to the rescue again just before the break when he produced a fine reflex save to keep out a header from Franco after Venta had driven the ball into the area.

Arsenal struggled to get out of their own half during the first period and with Thierry Henry ploughing a lonely furrow up front, Villarreal keeper Barbosa was never pressed into action.

The Londoners had even more problems holding Villarreal after the break.

Franco shaved a post with a bullet header after Venta had whipped in a fine cross soon after the restart and missed the target once again minutes later after Marcos Senna had clipped the ball into the area.

The Mexico striker set up Forlan with the best chance of the match midway through the half but the Uruguayan lashed the ball over the bar as Lehmann narrowed the angle quickly.

The German became the hero of the night when he kept his head after Villarreal were awarded their controversial late penalty and stopped Riquelme's spot kick.

"Today was about desire and commitment, you didn't see much of me up front but we worked hard," Arsenal captain Thierry Henry told ITV.

"But Lens was there, magnificent, he had an amazing game, not only the save."

The keeper, recently confirmed as Germany's number one for the World Cup, said: " We all deserved it, we fought very hard. It seemed as we had a grip, then this penalty, which wasn't a penalty."

Wenger said his side were a bit lucky on the night though it was a great achievement.

"We didn't manage to play tonight and I don't really know why," he said.

"We never came into our fluent game but you need a bit of luck and resilience and we had both tonight and I'm very proud of the character in that young team and of the more experienced players."