Would you really put money on Arsenal to do better than a 1-0 defeat int he Nou Camp though? It's certainly possible, given the quality of player they have, but too many of their players can go missing when the pressure is really on.
great, great game though - the best advertisement possible for football.
I wasn't that impressed by Fabregas last night - is that fair (I only watched the second half properly, btw)? I really feel Wilshere is the one Barca shoudl be looking at.
agreed. dan jones in the evening standard hit an all-time low yesterday, which is pretty impressive given his track record. also, flamini's tackle - two footed yes, but nowhere near as bad as ppl are making out. must have been 20 worse in the prem this year at least.Not enjoying this general xenophobic outburst against Gattuso. Sure he technically shouldn't have done what he did, but Joe Jordan seemed like he was being a bit of a dick and deserved it.
That's exactly what I'd say - only saw the second half (Barca superior in the first I'm hearing?) but Arsenal were much better - when Barcelona had the ball they got bogged down in too many passes that didn't go anywhere whereas Arsenal passed just as well but more directly. That said they looked as though they were running out of steam a bit when Van Persie got what was basically a pretty soft goal. On that evidence Wilshere is absolute class."that was a brilliant, brilliant match. well done arsenal. they genuinely deserved the win - i thought they were by far the superior team in the second half. jack wilshere was the best player on the pitch i thought, he just seems to get better and better. he has that xavi-like awareness, composure and body shape so that whenever he receives the ball he always makes space for himself and makes it look easy. there's no other english player with that kind of ability. i really hope they can do the business in the second leg."
Yeah, that's what I thought. Just read this from the Spanish press which seems to miss the point that you're making:"Barca pissed about too much in the second half. Constantly passing back and forth, never really attacking or attempting to break through the Arsenal back four. Very subdued."
But they weren't good passes - they got bogged down trying to pass through midfield and gave Arsenal a chance to get back in numbers. When Arsenal broke they were more direct but it was hardly long ball, it was long, accurate, quick passing and it was very hard to defend. Making more passes isn't an end in itself.El País noted that Barcelona had outpassed Arsenal by 773 to 423 and that seven Barcelona players made more passes than the best Gunner, Cesc Fábregas.
Wilshere and Koscielny were far and away Arsenal's best players. Koscielny, in particular. Solid defending. So many good tackles from him.
Yeah, who was the defender who dinked it over Eboue when they were under pressure - he almost came unstuck but he didn't so he looked cool. In fairness though neither side were whacking it out of defence, both were trying to build from the back until the very end when Arsenal defenders (understandably) did put their foot through it a couple of times.I admire how comfortable and relaxed they are though. Even in injury time, a goal down, they were coolly passing the ball around. Same with the Spanish national team. They never even clear it from their own box. Just pass it out.