The Scottish tactician admitted he would have liked his side to have taken more of the chances they created to give themselves a greater advantage than the 1-0 lead they currently hold ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next Tuesday.

However, the 67-year-old was extremely encouraged by his team's performance and asserted that the most important thing to do was not concede an away goal.

"I was pleased with the performance, the level of passing and movement was very, very good and we played at a high tempo," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"Maybe we should have scored four goals, but when you think about before the game, if you'd asked me what I wanted, I wanted to win the game and not lose a goal.

"You can't have everything in life, but we got that and we move on. The game's not over, but we know we can go there and score, and that's a big problem Arsenal have to carry.

"I think we've proved when the chips are down, like we did in Porto, that we are capable of a real high level. I think that's important.

"We reached a good high level tonight against a very good team. We know the tie is not over, but we're going there knowing we can score and that's important."

Ferguson opted to start Carlos Tevez at the head of a 4-3-3 formation, with Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, but he suggested that he may make many changes for the second leg.

"I've seen games in the past where they're maybe not as important a game as tonight, but you've missed chances and won the game,” Ferguson said.

"You say to yourself that we played well and we made chances. The bigger problem is if you don't make the chances.

"I believe this team can make chances again, obviously it may be a different team and we may look at it tactically a bit different, but in the main we know we've a goal threat."

Ricky Brooks, Goal.com