Arsenal outclass Villarreal to reach semi-finals

Arsenal romped into the semi-finals of the Champions League with a crushing 3-0 home defeat of Villarreal on Wednesday to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory and a last four clash with holders Manchester United.

Theo Walcott set the tone for a surprisingly one-sided encounter with an early opener before Emmanuel Adebayor’s second goal of the tie on the hour and a Robin van Persie penalty finished off Villarreal who had Sebastian Eguren sent off.

Villarreal’s hopes of Champions League glory were also ended by Arsenal in 2006.

However, while that semi-final meeting between the sides was on a knife edge until the very end, Arsenal were streets ahead of their disappointing opponents this time and could have won by a much larger margin.