Soccer Champions League semi-final, first leg: Arsenal 1 Villarreal 0: Arsenal showed the maturity of a team that belongs in the Champions League final, writes Kevin McCarra at Highbury.

Having scrambled Villarreal's wits in the first-half with a high-speed approach that brought them the lead, they assumed a more contemplative style to protect that advantage.

They might well have added to it, but a 1-0 win, thanks to Kolo Toure's first goal of the season, is a better result than appearances suggest.

No one will find it easy to overhaul an Arsenal side that has now strung together nine clean sheets. The task which will be undertaken at El Madrigal next Tuesday is especially daunting for a Villarreal team that have not won a match by more than a single goal in the competition.

Much as Arsene Wenger speaks of the need for Arsenal to be true to their values, there are always special circumstances to be considered and a Champions League semi-final on this ground was, after all, exceptional in the club's history. The side began with a barrage that featured an unfamiliar appetite for set-piece attacking.

This was a night designed to be as alien as possible to La Liga visitors, with Arsenal striving to sustain a Premiership pace. The consequences were encouraging, with the overlapping Mathieu Flamini bursting on to a lob by Freddie Ljungberg in the fourth minute and being stopped only by Cesar Arzo's foul. The centre back, selected because of injury problems, was given a booking to weigh on his young mind.

From the ensuing Thierry Henry free-kick, Kolo Toure turned to force a shot wide.

European football is supposed to be different but no one anticipated that Arsenal, so devoted to their passing style, would constitute an aerial threat. Nonetheless, Philippe Senderos and Gilberto Silva both missed the target with headers from corners in the opening 10 minutes.

Had it not been for a linesman's mistake, Arsenal's first-half peak would have come two minutes later. Robert Pires released Henry to finish confidently, but the captain was wrongly ruled offside.

Villarreal, in their relief, relaxed for a while, and there was the hint of Juan Roman Riquelme's play-making talent. For a time Manuel Pellegrini's team mustered the composure that has been so great an asset in the tournament.

Arsenal, however, generated danger with a pace and directness to which Villarreal did not adapt with conviction. Amid a scene of mayhem and luck, Pires found a deflected clearance falling to his feet in front of goal after 33 minutes, but Arzo thwarted the Frenchman just as he prepared to capitalise.

The Highbury side had an inkling of the risks they were running with, by their standards, a belligerent style. There was a lack of concentration from Toure when Forlan was released behind, even if the ensuing cross was dealt with comfortably.

Arsenal's directness was, all the same, to pay off four minutes before the interval.

Henry's corner was headed out, but he gathered the ball on the left and set up Alexander Hleb, who produced a burst of pace and a cutback that was tucked into the net by Toure.

A dejected Villarreal were soon to be roused by anger towards the Austrian referee Konrad Plautz. Riquelme was booked for his protest after Gilberto brought down Jose Mari from behind inside the penalty area and the official saw no foul.

The second half opened with Arsenal enjoying their lead and reeling off commanding moves. Following a bout of passing on the right involving Hleb and Pires, Emmanuel Eboue was released. His low cross went slightly behind Henry and the striker lifted his finish enough for Arzo to head clear.

The pressure, however, did not drop. Villarreal were in discomfort and Alessio Tacchinardi, the former Juventus midfielder, will take no part in the second after the suspension he picked up here for felling Hleb.

Though Lehmann did need to dive to save Marcos Senna's long-range shot after 68 minutes, Villarreal were still struggling to cause alarm. If this game did not seem as great an occasion as, say, that with Real Madrid, that was because of the lack of tension.

There remained only the usual anxieties of the closing stretch of a game to be negotiated.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Hleb (Bergkamp 80), Ljungberg (Van Persie 80), Silva, Fabregas, Pires, Henry. Subs not used: Almunia, Diaby, Song Billong, Walcott, Djourou. Goals: Toure 41.

VILLARREAL: Barbosa, Javi Venta, Quique Alvarez, Arzo, Arruabarrena, Senna, Tacchinardi, Sorin (Josico 72), Riquelme, Jose Mari (Franco 55), Forlan (Calleja 90). Subs not used: Lopez Vallejo, Guayre, Hector Font, Edu Caballer. Booked: Arzo, Riquelme, Tacchinardi, Franco, Quique Alvarez.

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria).