Lehmann zest suits Arsenal best

To English supporters of a certain age, the chant: 'Boring, boring Arsenal,' is a familiar one. Under one of Arsène Wenger's predecessors, George Graham, Arsenal FC were the masters of the low-scoring victory.

Exciting goalkeeper
However, since the French revolution brought continental verve to London, N5, one thing that the Gunners could never be accused of is being dull. It was almost a measure of their desire to entertain when they finally settled on a No1 goalkeeper in the form of the charismatic Jens Lehmann. In his third season at the club, the 36-year-old former FC Schalke 04 and BV Borussia Dortmund player has gone from a questionable asset to an unequivocal hero at Highbury having made the dramatic penalty save in the dying minutes of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Villarreal CF which sent the English club to their first final.

'We love him'
As he denied Juan Román Riquelme from the spot at El Madrigal, all memories of Lehmann's occasionally cavalier goalkeeping style were erased. As his captain Thierry Henry said: "Jens has been pretty consistent this year. Some moments of madness but, you know, we love him." Ousting Oliver Kahn from the No1 shirt with the national team proved that there was plenty of method to Lehmann's madness, and the fact that Arsenal have not conceded a UEFA Champions League goal when he has been on the pitch this season is a measure of the confidence he has given his side.

Fortune smiles
Yet it took that spot-kick save against Villarreal for the goalkeeper to really make the headlines. Lehmann said: "Obviously, it happened that the referee gave this penalty and I said to myself: 'Well, I came here not to concede goals and probably now I need some intuition combined with luck'. I was a little bit surprised because it took a while before he actually took the penalty, and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I was jumping forward, backward, sideways. Finally, I was happy that he ran up to the ball and took it. Sometimes you're fortunate to have some lucky moments in life."

Not over yet
True to his slightly austere approach, Lehmann refused to celebrate his save until the final whistle. "The game wasn't finished and I'm not a friend of celebrating penalties when it hasn't been decisive," he said. "It turned out to be decisive a couple of minutes later, but not at that moment." That save marked the culmination of Lehmann's return after some shaky performances the previous season had seen him dropped in favour of Manual Almunia. When the Spaniard also experienced a dip in form, the German made sure he seized his chance to reclaim the No1 shirt."I was average and was dropped by the manager," he remembers. "It was a tough time, I had to consider whether to leave the club, but my family is involved and we all wanted to stay here."

'Completely focused'
That decision to persevere has paid off, and now Lehmann has the chance to help Arsenal claim a first European Cup triumph. However, the euphoria of the occasion is not getting to him just yet. "I am completely focused and I think it's better to ask me how I'm feeling after the final because the job is not yet done," he said.