Keeper Lehmann shows Arsenal the stairway to heaven

Jens Lehmann's dramatic late penalty save against Villarreal is further proof that Arsenal have been leading a charmed life in Europe.

Misfiring in domestic football, where their cup campaigns ended long ago and only a UEFA Cup slot looks secure, Arsenal have become the first London club to reach a European Cup final.

Lehmann's inspired dive to stop Juan Roman Riquelme's 89th minute spot-kick on Tuesday gave them a fortuitous 0-0 draw on the night and a knife-edge 1-0 aggregate win.

"When you are in football you can be close to being in hell but you can rise to heaven just like that," the German keeper told the British media after his heroics at El Madrigal.

"I did think Riquelme would take their penalties. So, I watched some videos and I noticed he goes to the left because of his body shape so I guessed which way he was going to go."

But Lehmann, whose save helped set a European record of 10 consecutive clean sheets, also said: "It's really a question of luck. And I was lucky."

Lehmann's prowess, or good fortune, was celebrated yesterday in British newspapers with headlines such as "Jensational" and "Super Mann".

Several noted the irony that Germany's goalkeepers have previously dashed English footballing hopes from the penalty spot after England were knocked out of the 1990 World Cup and Euro '96 in shootouts.

Arsenal certainly rode their luck in Spain, where they gave their most disappointing performance of an impressive European campaign.

Arsene Wenger's side, with its heavy French accent, can now look forward to the final in Paris on May 17.

It is a remarkable prospect for a club who had never got past the quarter-finals in previous years and who will start next season at their new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.

However, there remains the small matter of the final, in which Arsenal will be the underdogs whoever they face.

Paris is set to be a double or nothing end to Arsenal's season. Victory would bring the world's top club trophy and a guarantee of more Champions League football - while defeat would confirm them as European also-rans.

Their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur currently hold the coveted fourth place in the Premier League table, worth a place in the Champions League third qualifying round, with just over two weeks left in the domestic campaign.

Unless Spurs crack and Arsenal move up from fifth they face the prospect of opening their new stadium to European football against the likes of this season's UEFA Cup entrants Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Viking Stavanger or Metalurg Donetsk.

Arsenal clearly want to avoid the financial implications of missing out on matches against top European teams such as Real Madrid or Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium.

The fans are therefore simply hoping history repeats itself, a year on.

Liverpool lost out to their local rivals Everton in the 2005 race to finish fourth but qualified for the Champions League as winners.

If Arsenal triumph in Paris and finish fifth, a change in UEFA's rules means Spurs would be relegated to the unloved UEFA Cup while Wenger's men will get the chance to defend the trophy.

Although the odds are stacked against that happening, Arsenal's charmed life may not be over yet.