Touré takes turn in the limelight

Kolo Touré believes the 1-0 first-leg victory against Villarreal CF in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals is a "big, big result" for Arsenal FC and is confident Arsène Wenger's side can finish the job in Tuesday's return to reach the final of Europe's premier club competition for the first time.

Fond farewell
The Ivory Coast defender slid in the only goal of a tight and tense tie four minutes before half-time after Thierry Henry and Aleksandr Hleb had unlocked the Villarreal rearguard. The strike was the last in European action at Highbury, with the ground hosting its final continental fixture nearly 25 years after it was first used for a European Champion Clubs' Cup match. The 25-year-old says that advantage could be crucial when Arsenal travel to El Madrigal next week. "This was a big, big result for Arsenal – we know it's going to be very difficult at Villarreal, but we also know we can get through."

Confidence high
Having eliminated Real Madrid CF and Juventus before stretching their UEFA Champions League record to nine consecutive clean sheets in defeating Villarreal, confidence is high among Touré and his team-mates, although Wednesday's match-winner was not entirely satisfied with the evening's work. "It's great that we have managed to keep our run of clean sheets going, but it would have been nice to have scored a second," he admitted. "We were a bit unlucky not to get another goal, but they were very well organised defensively and that made our task harder.

Rare goal
"I don't get many goals but this one could turn out to be really important," added Touré, whose strike was only his second in 35 UEFA Champions League appearances. "We defended really well and Gilberto did a great job marking [Villarreal playmaker Juan Román] Riquelme, so hopefully we can do the same out there. I think El Madrigal is a similar stadium to Highbury, it's a small pitch and the best team will win. It was important to get a lead to take to Spain, although we will try to score out there as well. I think the pressure is on them now."

Forlán hope
Villarreal forward Diego Forlán refutes that last suggestion and believes the tie is still in the balance, saying: "One-nil is not a bad result, but we must be strong defensively in the second leg as if they score, I think that would be the end of the tie. They're a good team with great players and it's going to be an exciting game at El Madrigal."