Riquelme ready to bite back

Villarreal CF may be 1-0 down in their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Arsenal FC but Juan Román Riquelme insists: "With hard work, confidence and discipline, we will be fine."

Danger man
The Argentinian international has been one of Villarreal's most dangerous players this season, and he is convinced his side will overturn their first-leg deficit at El Madrigal on Tuesday to reach a first-ever European final. "We would have preferred a better result at Highbury, like a draw, and also to have scored, but that is the result," he told uefa.com. "We now have to try and win 2-0. The first leg gave us the belief we will score against Arsenal. With hard work, confidence and discipline we will be fine."

Inter comeback
Having lost 2-1 in the opening game of their quarter-final against FC Internazionale Milano, Villarreal are not unaccustomed to coming from behind to win. Indeed, their heroic progress in the competition has left the 27-year-old believing his team are destined to contest the Paris showpiece. "I believe we will make the final, purely because we have the chance to do so," Riquelme explained. "We don't know when we will get another opportunity like this - we cannot let it slip through our fingers. We have to go through. It's the prize we deserve for all our good work."

Pure effort
Effort has been crucial to Villarreal's success, and Riquelme expects plenty more of the same against Arsenal. "We are a team that has worked hard to get this far in the competition, playing good football and defending well," he said. "We have to remain very solid now to reach the final." However, perhaps the key element has been the Spanish club's spirit. Despite being relative newcomers in European football, they have not been daunted by any of their illustrious opponents, and Riquelme is not about to let his admiration for Arsenal get in the way of his desire for glory.

'They have weaknesses'
"Our confidence has certainly not been dented by the first-leg scoreline," he said. "I have said I like the way Arsenal play. Cesc Fabregas moves the ball very quickly and Thierry Henry has the ability to do a lot of damage. But they have weaknesses - the same ones that affect every attack-minded team." Arsenal have not conceded a goal in nine UEFA Champions League outings, yet Riquelme insists such records are there to be broken. "I'm sure they will concede more than one at El Madrigal," he said. "That sequence has to come to an end some time. I don't know one team in Europe that has simply stopped conceding goals forever."