Emmanuel Adebayor's stunning second-half bicycle kick gave Arsenal a hard-earned 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Adebayor's 66th-minute winner came as Arsenal took control of the match in the final half-hour, but an excellent Villarreal side pushed them all the way to the whistle.Veteran midfielder Marcos Senna put the visitors ahead on 10 minutes with a stunning rifled shot from 25 yards as the home side dominated the early exchanges.Yet the visitors came back into the game, with Cesc Fabregas being denied an equaliser from a quickly-taken free kick at the end of the first half, and Adebayor's equaliser coming as part of a sustained period of second-half pressure as the Gunners imposed their will on their hosts.Villarreal had started the game brightly, dominating possession with passing and movement that saw them run their guests ragged in the early stages, and in the fourth minute Joan Capdevila's header was cleared off the line by Gael Clichy.Then, just inside the first 10 minutes, veteran midfielder Senna tried a long-shot from 25 yards that came perfectly off his right boot to curl in to the top-right corner and leave Manuel Almunia grabbing at thin air.The goal woke Arsenal up with a start, and they came in to the ascendancy with some good football. On 18 minutes Samir Nasri's left-foot effort drew a fine save from Diego Lopez in the Villarreal goal, and a minute later Clichy's header drew another excellent stop from the keeper.Gradually, however, the hosts regained the ascendancy as they began to hold on to the ball more effectively and reduce Arsenal's chances.And on the half-hour mark Villarreal came close to adding another as Senna's long shot and Capdevila's follow-up drew two great saves from Lukasz Fabianski, who had replaced the injured Almunia.Right before the break William Gallas also hobbled off injured, but Fabregas seemed to have improved the mood by equalising after taking a free-kick quickly - yet the referee both disallowed the goal and rather harshly booked the Spaniard for his impudence to cap a disappointing first half for the visitors.As the game restarted the two sides were ruthless in closing each other down and denying chances; but when Arsenal calmed the pace down a little and focused on staying patient at the hour mark they slowly began to take control of the game.Theo Walcott came close to being through while Adebayor headed wide before the likely-looking equaliser came on 65 minutes.When it did, it was breathtaking: Adebayor got on the end of a long ball from the half-way line, controlled on his chest while surrounded by defenders, then rifled in a side-on bicycle kick past Diego Lopez.It was just reward for Arsenal's endeavours and inspired the visitors to even greater domination that saw Adebayor, Walcott and Nasri all have further good chances.Villarreal had a late flourish that restored some pride, but they never looked like finding a winner.Arsenal closed out a draw that, in the context of their poor start, was a fantastic result, while Villarreal will travel to the Emirates Stadium having conceded what could well prove to be a critical away goal.
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