15 Years On: A look back at how close Arsenal came to Champions League glory in 2006

15 Years On: A look back at how close Arsenal came to Champions League glory in 2006 

By Josh Graham

With London rivals Chelsea heading into the Champions League final against Manchester City, Gunners fans have been reminiscing about the time they came so close to being crowned European champions.

Arsene Wenger’s men came up despairingly short in the 2006 showpiece against Barcelona, losing 2-1 in Paris. 

Now 15 years on, we look at just how close Arsenal came to getting their hands on the trophy.

 

Run to the final 

Arsenal convincingly topped a group that included Ajax, Swiss side Thun and Sparta Prague. 

The Gunners won every game aside from the final round of matches when they drew 0-0 with the Dutch giants at Highbury, with both teams progressing into the knockouts. 

Thierry Henry’s crucial goal at the Bernabeu in the first leg was then enough to see off Real Madrid’s Galacticos in the last 16. 

The Frenchman bagged the only goal of the tie as Arsenal shut out their La Liga opponents during the second leg in North London to book a quarter-final date with Juventus. 

Goals from Cesc Fabregas and Henry gave the Gunners a 2-0 win in the first leg at Highbury before another goalless stalemate in Turin saw them reach the last four. 

Coincidentally, semi-final opponents Villarreal dumped Arsenal out of the Europa League at the same stage this season. 

But a Kolo Toure winner in the first leg was enough to book a spot against Barcelona at the Stade de France. 

Build-up 

Arsenal went into the final having not conceded in 919 minutes of Champions League action, stretching back to a group stage game against Ajax. 

Both sides were unbeaten heading into the biggest game in European club football and the Catalan giants were full of confidence having been crowned La Liga champions just a few weeks beforehand. 

A young Lionel Messi was an injury doubt going into the game and never made it onto the pitch. 

Robert Pires had already announced his move to Villarreal, so the final would be his last game for the club, and he made the starting XI despite talk he could be replaced by Jose Antonio Reyes on the left. 

Teams 

Arsenal: Jens Lehmann; Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole; Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Alexander Hleb; Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry. 

Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Oleguer, Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Giovanni van Bronckhorst; Edmilson, Deco, Mark van Bommel; Ludovic Giuly, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o. 

The match: first half 

Arsenal started brightly and certainly weren’t daunted by the bright lights on the big stage. 

Henry fashioned plenty of good openings early on, but Victor Valdes remained firm between the sticks for Barca. 

The entire complexion of the game changed with a dramatic moment of controversy in the 18th minute. Samuel Eto’o nipped the ball past the onrushing German keeper Jens Lehmann just outside the box who brought him crashing down. 

The ball broke for Ludovic Giuly who rolled it into an empty net, but Norwegian referee Terje Hauge had seemingly already blown his whistle for the foul. 

The official gave Lehmann a straight red card and awarded Barcelona a free-kick and the goal did not stand. 

Lehmann had the unfortunate honour of being the first player to ever be sent off in a European Cup final.

His night was not the only one to end abruptly as Pires’ Arsenal career ended at the same time when he was hooked for substitute goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. 

Incredibly, just under 20 minutes later, it was 10-man Arsenal who took the lead against the odds thanks to a powerful header from Sol Campbell. 

The English centre-back was unmarked and nodded home from Henry’s pinpoint ball in the 37th minute.

Emmanuel Eboue appeared to have dived to win the set piece after replays showed there was no contact with opposition skipper Carles Puyol. 

The match: second half 

After the break Barcelona began to press home their numerical advantage by fashioning a number of opportunities but stand-in Almunia looked solid under pressure, making one particularly impressive stop from Ronaldinho. 

The Gunners had several chances themselves to potentially put the game to bed, but Alexander Hleb dragged his shot wide of Valdes’ post. 

Valdes then denied both Freddie Ljungberg and Henry - who was one-on-one with the Spaniard - to keep Barca in it. 

Those important stops seemed to swing the momentum as the Blaugrana upped the ante. 

Arsenal were just 14 minutes away from European glory when Eto’o broke the hearts of Gooners by slipping one past Almunia at the near post. 

The Spanish side doubled up just four minutes later with substitute Juliano Belletti scoring the winner with his first ever goal for the club as his shot ricocheted off Almunia’s legs and into the net to deny the Gunners in cruel fashion. 

Aftermath 

By finishing as runners-up Arsenal bagged the unwanted accolade of becoming the first English side to lose in the final of the Champions League, UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. 

Of course, Arsenal are yet to make another Champions League final since and have not even played in the competition since 2017. 

Wenger took his side to the semi-final in 2008/09 but a last four defeat to Manchester United deprived them of a shot at revenge against Barca who again went on to lift the trophy.

Photo Credit: Getty Images