ARSENAL, gloriously, moved within touching distance of a first European Cup last night but this was probably not the occasion to be talking about the purist’s final, about the fantasy football that will grace a Parisian evening in spring.

There may yet be a night of the spectacular in the Stade de France — it is hard to see otherwise if Ronaldinho’s Barcelona confirm their own place tonight — but Arsenal’s last step to Paris was a tentative stumble. Nervous and anxious as they explored a new frontier for the North London club, Arsène Wenger’s team required a large helping of luck and a late, heroic intervention from Jens Lehmann.

While his behaviour remains erratic, the German goalkeeper has probably been Arsenal’s most consistent player this season. And this will always be his most famous save.

When Gaël Clichy was harshly judged to have knocked over José Mari — it was only a slight nudge from a featherweight full back — Juan Román Riquelme stepped up to take the game into extra time. Instead, Lehmann bounced at least a yard off his line, diving to his left to send Arsenal to Paris and into ecstasy.

So the tenth clean sheet in a row was the most fortunate of them all, but Wenger promised a return to the familiar, liberated Arsenal in Paris. With the club’s French connections, it almost counts as a home fixture — particularly for Henry, who was raised in the Parisien banlieue of Les Ulis.

“You will see a different team then,” Wenger said. “We will recover physically and we have everything to win. We will give it our best shot and I believe we will do it.”

A repeat of this timid performance would bring only despair in Paris, whether it is Barcelona or AC Milan in opposition. Arsenal played poorly throughout, seemingly trying their hardest to live up to Riquelme’s disdainful description of Wenger’s cavaliers as “nine men behind the ball and Henry”.

The manager praised the character and resolve of his players but admitted that Villarreal had been “on top of us, physically and technically”. Gilberto worked hard to provide some stability, gradually getting to grips with Riquelme, but there were fitful contributions from the rest of the midfield.

As if the chance of their first European Cup final was not big enough stakes to be playing for in El Madrigal, Arsenal’s draw against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend had cranked the pressure still higher. After weeks of mounting optimism, it had come as an untimely reminder that not much would have to go wrong for their season to disintegrate.

The fragility of their position became even more apparent as Villarreal forced them into retreat. Manuel Pellegrini, the Chilean coach, had given the first team a weekend off from La Liga but they had used their time on the training ground to devise a clever strategy.

Outplayed in London, Pellegrini’s cocktail of Spaniards and South Americans passed the ball briskly and incisively. Orchestrating most of this was Riquelme, who roamed deep and wide to evade the attentions of Gilberto, his omnipresent shadow at Highbury.

It hardly helped Arsenal’s nerves that the record-breaking back four, already disrupted by the introduction of a rusty Sol Campbell for the injured Philippe Senderos, was shorn of another dependable stalwart after only nine minutes. Mathieu Flamini limped off, clutching a hamstring, to be replaced by Clichy, who had been out for more than five months because of a broken foot.

Clichy was uncertain whether to leave his defensive position and close down Javi Venta, who caused mayhem with a barrage of crosses, but the young full back was not alone in his anxiousness. So impressive in swarming over Villarreal in their previous encounter — and against Juventus and Real Madrid in previous rounds — Arsenal suddenly looked lightweight and reticent.

Given their unease, Wenger will have been content to reach half-time having suffered nothing worse than a few scratches. Lehmann had been forced into a couple of saves, but the best chance probably came from another cross by Venta that flew across the goalmouth and just beyond the sliding Sorin.

At half-time, Wenger instructed his side to defend farther up the field but it was still proving difficult to relieve the pressure by keeping possession. When they had strung a few passes together in the first period, Campbell had broken the sequence by hoofing the ball into touch. They did not need to score but just one attack would have been encouraging.

What chances there were continued to fall to Villarreal with two more crosses from Venta inviting the breakthrough. Guillermo Franco was first to both of them, eluding Campbell, but he headed just past a post.

Diego Forlán reprised his worst Manchester United form, shooting wide, and then just when it seemed that Arsenal had survived, they had to face the late drama of the penalty.

They endured it, to leave Wenger wondering if Arsenal’s name is on the cup but, if a wonderfully unexpected, uplifting story is to have a happy ending, they will first have to remember how to play without inhibitions.

EUROPE IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

The Stade de France, Paris, Wednesday, May 17, 7.45pm

Arsenal supporters have been looking forward to spending a few days in Paris at the end of the season and for those lucky enough to be able to get their hands on tickets, the dream is about to come true — at a price (Kaveh Solhekol writes).

As Jens Lehmann was making his crucial save last night, easyjet.com was selling return flights from Luton to Paris on the day of the final for more than £500. Anyone wishing to travel the next day will pay £21.49 one way.

Arsenal fans are also likely to be out of pocket if they decide to travel by train. A ticket on Eurostar leaving Waterloo on May 17 and coming back the next day will cost £324.