Arsenal gloriously stopped the complete capitulation of English clubs in Europe with a classic old-style away performance to march into their third continental final in seven years.

It was a Frenchman, 21-goal Thierry Henry, and a Nigerian, substitute Kanu, who put the nails in gallant but outclassed Lens' coffin to make a date with Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup Final in Copenhagen on May 17.

But Arsene Wenger's irresistible mix of bulldog British grit and continental craft was the key to a triumph that racked up an eighth consecutive win for the resurgent Gunners.

And the major bonus was all the seven Arsenal players vulnerable to a final ban if they were booked again in this intimidating semi avoided booking and will be free to turn up in Danish capital next month, where the North London club captured the European Cup Winners Cup against Parma in 1994 - only to lose it again to the Spaniards of Real Zaragoza in Paris a year later.

When Pascal Nouma headed in a Charles Coridon cross 17 minutes from time to level out Henry's magnificent 43rd-minute strike, Arsenal looked like having to settle for victory on the back of their early lone-goal by Dennis Bergkamp in the first leg at Highbury two weeks ago.

Even more alarming, Nouma wasted a golden chance to give his side hope of a miracle comeback, shooting wide when allowed to go clear from an offside position onto a fortuitous rebound with ten minutes to go.

But substitutes Marc Overmars and Kanu opened up the Lens defence with surgical precision again with five minutes to go and the leggy African's clinched the tie.

In truth, it should never have been even as close as that. Wenger's in-form team controlled the match with immaculate ease after an inevitable sticky start.

It is a pity that it cannot be an all-English final. Lens, despite a gritty performance in the first leg, were not in the same class here as Leeds United, whom Arsenal trounced 4-0 at Elland Road last Sunday in the Premiership.

And it should have been at least that margin again at the Felix Bollaert stadium as Emmanuel Petit failed to convert a piece of Bergkamp magic into a goal five minutes after the break.

Then, within seconds, Henry hit a post after being freed by Petit's immaculate pass and goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz kicked Ray Parlour's follow-up volley off the line.

Overmars also saw his drive cleared from the line by Lens' former Crystal Palace defender Valerien Ismael soon after coming on with Kanu to replace Bergkamp and Freddie Ljungberg in the 68th minute.

Henry's eighth European goal this season had earlier doubled Arsenal's aggregate advantage two minutes before the end of a first half dominated by the English side.

Henry, who had looked out of touch in the first half-hour, needed only one glimpse of goal though to fire home and take the heat out of combustible 41,000 home crowd.

Gunners had gone into the game on the back of seven consecutive wins, having scored 30 goals in their previous 12 fixtures and have failed to find the target only eight times in 50 matches this season.

The classic away goal was always going to be a vital commodity because taking just a slim 1-0 lead into the noisy colourful World Cup ground in the heart of a French mining community, was not to be recommended to the faint of heart.

But Arsenal, with skipper Tony Adams and Martin Keown twin towers of resolution at the back, had plenty of heart and bags of skill to spare, exemplified by the brilliant Bergkamp who arrived by train to circumvent his fear of air travel and must definitely have travelled first-class.

The 3,000 Lens fans who travelled to North London two weeks ago made an impressive enough clamour, but this time, in their own backyard, it was multiplied a dozen times over. If ever a crowd was worth a goal to its team then this was it.

And when veteran full back Lee Dixon was first out onto the pitch for the pre-match Arsenal warm-up, his act of applauding the travelling Gunners fans resulted in the home supporters showering him with jeers.

They still could not forget that he was the perceived villain when their striker Tony Vairelles - now with Lyon - was sent off in a bad-tempered Champions League clash between the sides nearly 18 months ago.

But all the abuse merely drove the Gunners on and Adams only half-cleared a Brunel cross to Dacourt, 25-yards out in the opening minute and then had to block the follow-up shot, Arsenal were soon in cruise-control, knowing that one goal would leave Lens, their nemesis in the Champions League last season at Wembley, needing to score three to beat them.

There was another early scare when Lamine Sakho outpaced Adams to the edge of the Arsenal box only for Keown to get back and rob him just in time.

But having weathered the storm, it was Arsenal who then looked far more likely to score than their hosts.

And had Bergkamp's shot on the run not been a yard off target, it would haver been a picture goal after Henry's superb flick on from a Silvinho pass in the 36th minute.

But Henry's wonder goal two minutes before the break finally crowned a splendid first-half performance. Silvinho fed Freddie Ljungberg down the left and he pulled the ball back again to the Brazilian, who then picked out Henry in the box where the striker gloriously turned his marker to fire in an unstoppable shot.

Even so Nouma should have equalised in first-half stoppage time, heading wide when unmarked to meet Sakho's cross. Referee Jose Garcia-Aranda bizarrely booked Silvinho just before the half time whistle for alleged time-wasting.

However Arsenal should have need no such tactics had Petit, released by another cool Bergkamp delivery, not wasted his opportunity soon after the break. Then the post foiled Henry's drive.

And it looked like ending in the same score as here in the Champions League 21 months ago when Nouma headed in Charles Coridon's cross in the 73rd minute.

When Nouma, who hit the bar at Highbury, sliced wide in the 80th minute it could have even more fraught. But then Overmars and Kanu carved out Arsenal's late second to put some sort of sanity on the scoreline at the end of a one-sided game.

It means now that two clubs who have failed in the Champions League will meet in the UEFA Cup final this season and that will not go down well in many quarters.

But try telling that to the glorious Gunners who won this trophy when it was known as the Inter Cities Fairs Cup 30 years ago.

Teams

Lens: Warmuz, Sikora, Dacourt, Nyarko, Brunel (Moreira 59), Sakho, Nouma (Job 88), Pierre-Fanfan, Ismael, Coridon (Rodriguez 75), Queudrue.

Subs Not Used: Lachor, Collet, Coly, Chabbert.

Booked: Moreira.

Goals: Nouma 73.

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Silvinho, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Ljungberg (Overmars 69), Bergkamp (Kanu 69), Henry (Grimandi 80).

Subs Not Used: Winterburn, Malz, Luzhny, Manninger.

Booked: Silvinho.

Goals: Henry 43, Kanu 86.

Att: 41,043

Ref: Jose Garcia-Aranda (Spain).