The Arsenal captain Cesc Fábregas has called for his side to be "clinical" at the Emirates Stadium next week if they are to overturn Manchester United's 1–0 advantage and secure a place in the Champions League final.
The goalkeeper Manuel Almunia denied Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez twice and Cristiano Ronaldo – who also hit the crossbar in the second half – as Arsenal were fortunate to leave Old Trafford last night only one goal down.
In attack, too, Arsenal created very little from their five-man midfield combination, which was without the cup-tied Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin.
A 20-yard drive from Fábregas and Emmanuel Adebayor's volley over the bar were as close as Arsenal came to netting an away goal.
"We have to be more clinical in front of goal – that is for sure," said Fábregas. "We passed the ball a lot and combined very well, but we were not clinical enough. That is what we have to improve."
Arsenal have not lost a European tie at home since their move from Highbury in 2006, and have conceded just once in their last 12 home games.
Manchester United have taken only one point from their three Premier League visits, losing twice, with Arsenal winning 2–1 in November after a brace from Samir Nasri.
"How much stronger are we at home? We showed that in the Premier League, by beating them and scoring two goals," the Spain midfielder said. "Let's think about the league [game], and the tie is still open.
"You look at the 1–0 scoreline, and we have seen worse things than that in the Champions League. Manchester United deserved to win, but now it is up to us to play well at the Emirates and beat them."
The defender Bacary Sagna also feels Arsenal can emerge stronger after their Old Trafford test. "We have to think about what happened and look forward to the second leg," he said. "We could have conceded more goals, and did not really have many chances to score, so we have to learn from that. We have to find a solution to play better and to play our own game."
Both leading scorer Robin van Persie (groin) and regular left-back Gaël Clichy (back) may well be in contention to boost Arsenal's options for the second leg, while the manager Arsène Wenger suggested he would look to inject some fresh legs into his team for the Premier League trip to Portsmouth on Saturday.
Wenger has challenged his young side to produce the performance their potential shows next week. "It will be a good opportunity to show our character and our mental strength," he said. "I believe we still have a chance to reverse the result. Football can be like this. We could play tomorrow and you would see a different game.
"That is why I still believe at home we can do it. When you play at home knowing you could reach a final, we will be up for it. We want to catch Chelsea [in third place], and beat Portsmouth, but we will certainly have to rest one or two players."
