London, April 20:

Kolo Toure scored the lone goal on Wednesday, giving Arsenal a 1-0 win over Villarreal in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals and a huge boost in its quest to reach the final of Europe’s No 1 club competition for the first time.

After dominating the first 40 minutes, Arsenal took the lead in the 41st at Highbury when Toure scored his first goal of the season.

The goal came after Thierry Henry’s corner was deflected out of the area. The Frenchman regained the ball and found Alexander Hleb with a deft pass, and the Belarussian then chipped the ball to Toure, who slipped it behind Villarreal goalkeeper Mariano Barbosa from close range.

FC Barcelona, the favorite to win the trophy on May 17 in Paris, took a 1-0 lead on Tuesday after beating AC Milan in the first leg of the other semi-final. Both second legs are next week.

Arsenal pressured early and had several scoring chances against a stout Villarreal defense, with both teams playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time.

Henry appeared to score in the 12th, but the play was ruled offsides on a close call. Villarreal’s best chance in the half came when Juan Ramon Riquelme ripped a 25-yard free kick into the arms of Arsenal ‘keeper Jens Lehmann.

Arsenal escaped a penalty late in the first half when Gilberto brought down a Villarreal player in the area.

Henry almost put the game away in the 56th, but his shot from inside the area was cleared off the line by Cesar Arzo. Henry again could have made it 2-0 in the 70th as he slipped a perfect cross into the area, but found no one to deflect it. Seconds later, Gilberto sent a 25-yard shot into Barbosa’s arms.

It was the ninth straight Champions League game in which Arsenal has not allowed a goal. They broke the old record of eight straight in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Inter Milan.

The match was Arsenal’s final European appearance at Highbury stadium, which will be replaced next season by a new 60,000-seat stadium a few blocks away in north London.

Although six British teams have won Europe’s No 1 trophy, no team from London has ever won it. Liverpool is the leader with five titles, including last season.