Manuel Almunia went on to play for Watford, where he remains a cult hero for his crucial play off penalty save against Leicester in 2013

FOR nearly two decades, Arsenal’s absence from the Champions League winners’ roll remains one of football’s enduring “what ifs.”

The Gunners, long admired for their style under Arsène Wenger, came agonisingly close in 2006 — leading Barcelona in the final despite being reduced to ten men — before suffering a 2–1 defeat in Paris.

Now, former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia who replaced the sent-off Jens Lehmann that night, has shed new light on the heartbreak, suggesting that rain and soaked gloves may have played a role in Barcelona’s late comeback.

He had been thrust into the action after Lehmann was given a straight red card just 18 minutes into the match for bringing down striker Samuel Eto’o – the first man to be sent off in a European Cup final.

“As soon as the foul was given, I stood up to get changed and take off my jacket because I knew it was going to be a red card,” Almunia said in an interview with Arsenal’s matchday programme against Crystal Palace yesterday (Sunday).

“From then I didn’t have any time to think. I just looked next to me on the bench to Philippe Senderos and said, ‘Oh my God, here we go!’”

“I didn’t have time to react,” he said. “I had to be ready to face Ronaldinho’s free kick as soon as I came on. I remember I made a very good save from Samuel Eto’o at the end of the first half. I was reading the game very well, I anticipated some balls and got confidence. I felt really, really relaxed, no pressure and I was happy to be there.”

For much of the second half, Arsenal’s dream held firm. Thierry Henry had chances to double the lead, and Barcelona — led by Ronaldinho, Deco and a young Lionel Messi watching injured from the stands — grew increasingly desperate.

Then came a sudden downpour in the French capital.

“I remember the rain started to come down very heavily and my gloves were full of water, soaking,” Almunia recalled. “I could feel the wet pitch through my boots and the pitch started to play so fast.”

It was at that point that Barcelona’s pressure began to tell. Henrik Larsson, brought on from the bench, created both goals in quick succession. Eto’o equalised in the 76th minute, and Juliano Belletti’s strike — which slipped agonisingly between Almunia’s legs — sealed Arsenal’s fate.

“Their second goal was because of the water,” Almunia admitted. “The ball went very fast between my legs. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t and after that I was really broken.”

Arsenal’s ten men had led for more than 40 minutes, and for many supporters, it remains the closest the club has ever come to conquering Europe. Wenger’s side never again reached the final, despite further strong runs in the years that followed.

“We had led Barcelona for a long, long time with ten men. We could have got the second goal even,” Almunia said. “These types of games are difficult to forget.”