Barcelona (4) – (1) Arsenal
Bendtner (18′)
Champions League Quarter Final (2nd Leg)
Camp Nou, Barcelona

What a frustrating game to watch.

Despite Arsenal missing players Van Persie, Gallas, Fabregas, Campbell, Song, Arshavin and Djourou – essentially half a team – they were in this tie.

After a solid opening 18 minutes, Arsenal were defensively disciplined and Barcelona found it difficult to make any clear opportunities, with the only real effort of note a Lionel Messi shot from outside the area that Almunia saved comfortably enough.

And the focused display was rewarded when Abou Diaby won the ball on the halfway line, played in Walcott with a perfectly timed ball and he played in Bendtner. The pass wasn’t the best but the Great Dane managed to get an effort on target which was saved by Valdes, but Bendtner recovered excellently and scored the opening goal.

Advantage Arsenal!

But then, Arsenal literally self-destructed and gifted Barcelona an easy ride.

The back pages of tomorrow’s newspapers and every football website will be raving about Lionel Messi being a player who is from another planet. The best player in the world who annihilated Arsenal.

But the sad fact of the matter was Messi wasn’t phenomenal against us. Arsenal gift-wrapped his 4 goals with amateurish and naive defensive mistakes.

Don’t get me wrong, Messi is an incredible talent. And for me, he could be the greatest the game has ever seen. But he didn’t have to get out of second gear to score his goals. He didn’t score from a piece of magic, or some sensational dribble. His goals were straightforward and put on a plate for him.

Arsenal defensively were shambolic and collapsed as soon as Bendtner gave us the lead.

And that is the most frustrating thing of all. We were solid and focused for 20 minutes but were woeful for the rest of the game. The second half was painful to watch as Barcelona cruised to victory without breaking a sweat.

Once Bendtner gave us the lead, we collapsed. Diaby was absolutely shocking again, and had a glorious chance to release Walcott but instead lost the ball, from which Barcelona equalised. And even then we didn’t deal with the goal very well.

Diaby lost the ball, Barcelona broke and a cross was played into the box, only for the geriatric Mikael Silvestre to obviously not realise the ball was near him and he poked it to Messi, the worlds most dangerous player, to have a free shot right in front of the goal. Great defending there.
So that was gift number one.

After failing to even hold onto the lead for 5 minutes, the collapse continued as Arsenal kept losing possession cheaply and giving Barcelona exactly what they wanted – lots of the ball. The sad thing was for all of Barcelona’s high intensity pressing game, they didn’t have to work hard to get the ball back, we gifted it to them.

And on 37 minutes Messi scored again.

A cross from Abidal from the left was well cut out by Vermaelen, but Pedro pushed the ball back to Messi who had all the time in the world to lash a shot passed the stranded Almunia.

Barcelona had come back without even having to break a sweat.

Then we conceded the customary “break away” goal as Messi ran free and had the time to chip the ball over Almunia. 3-1 to Barcelona and memories of Rooney and Drogba scoring break away goals against us in the league.

Half time came and I still believed that we could nick the couple of goals that would see us through. That was based on the belief that we couldn’t play as badly as we did in the second part of the first half.

But Barcelona had learnt their lesson from the first leg and played much deeper and kept the ball away from us. Possession is nine tenths of the law and we couldn’t get the ball. And unfortunately, on the rare occasions that we did win the ball, we wasted it. It was frustrating to watch as this Arsenal team couldn’t string 3 passes together.

It was a case of having the ball in decent areas of the pitch but not doing anything with it. Instead of releasing a fellow player or moving the ball far to often players like Nasri and Diaby would dwell on the ball and inevitably lose it after being closed down by 3 Barcelona players.

I cannot count how many times Diaby lost the ball tonight.

We had the game in our hands, and despite missing numerous first team players we still fielded a team that could have progressed tonight. Arsene Wenger called for 120% effort, intelligence and commitment and if we had that then we could have got something from the game. But we didn’t release Theo anywhere near as he should have, lost possession far to easily and didn’t use the ball well at all. This is not the first time I’ve seen Theo in the team and no-one seems to pass to him, do some of the players have a problem with him? Because when I watch it seems like it.

It doesn’t take 120% intelligence to work out Barcelona’s weakness. Theo Walcott ran them ragged in the first leg and he was the one who set-up the opening goal tonight. Why didn’t we use him more after that?!
And I have to mention the officials, they were utterly shite.

The booking for Denilson when he clearly won the ball (about 20 seconds before he actually made contact with Messi) was unbelievable. Most of the decisions he made were shocking and the real nail in the coffin was the offside decision against Bendtner when Arsenal were 1-0 up. If that wasn’t given then it could have been a completely different game.

Player Ratings

Manual Almunia: 7/10
Badly exposed for all of Messi’s goals so you couldn’t blame him for those.

Bacary Sagna: 7/10
Kept Pedro and Bojan quiet and supported the attack well.

Thomas Vermaelen: 7/10
Did well under the circumstances, considering he was doing two jobs at the back alongside Silvestre. Could see the frustration on his face at the performance around him and you couldn’t blame him.

Mikael Silvestre: 4/10
Never seen him play well for Arsenal, and was asking myself throughout the game why the hell he is at Arsenal. Red nose couldn’t wait to get rid of him so why would we want him? Shocking mistake for Barcelona’s first goal, and terrible overall. I realise he’s defensive cover but when you’re behind an ageing Sol Campbell and midfielder Alex Song in the pecking order you wonder why we can’t promote a youth talent into the squad.

Gael Clichy: 8/10
One of the few plus points tonight. Determined, quick, ran for every ball and made some vital interceptions. Most of our attacking play went through him on the left hand side. On 75 minutes, he ran 60 yards up the field after winning the ball and instead of passing took a pop shot from 25 yards which flew well over. And you know what, you couldn’t blame him – why pass to team mates when they do nothing with the ball?

Abou Diaby: 5/10
The Walcott pass was the only positive thing he did. After that, constantly lost the ball, strolled around the pitch and looked completely lost. He either has a fantastic game or just disappears. Unfortunately tonight it was the latter.

Denilson: 8/10
Did well considering, won the ball back in vital areas and was one of the few players who actually completed a pass. Made a fantastic tackle on Messi in he first half only to be booked.

Samir Nasri: 6/10
Couldn’t get into the game and looked dead in all honesty. Involved in a rough tackle from Milito in the first 15 minutes and seemed to struggle after. Just didn’t have enough of the ball to influence the game.

Tomas Rosicky: 6/10
Offered nothing and looked unfit. Had a decent chance in the second half but blew his shot well over the bar. Tracked back well and helped Clichy but couldn’t get forward and influence the game.

Theo Walcott: 7/10
The service wasn’t there for him. He was the outlet ball for the team but no-one gave him a decent ball to chase after the one for the first goal, so rendered hugely ineffective for the majority of the game.

Nicklas Bendtner: 8/10
Did excellently for his first goal but like Theo was let down from the lack of service from midfield. Had one chance tonight and he took it, so you couldn’t ask anymore from him.

Arsenal (2) – (2) Barcelona
Walcott (69′), Fabregas (85′)
Champions League Quarter Final (1st Leg)
The Emirates Stadium, London

What a crazy game that was! I’ve only just about recovered..

The first 15 minutes were amazing. In the sense that I have watched Arsenal for over 20 years now and I have never seen a side dominate Arsenal as much as that. Barcelona were that good. Their football was simply outstanding and from a different planet.

You have to take your hat off to them, they were stunningly good. They picked passes at will, created space and completely ran us ragged. They made 5 clear chances but Almunia, who has been under pressure after the Birmingham game, made some superb saves. The Spaniard was on fantastic form in the opening 20 minutes, and if it wasn’t for him then we could have (and maybe should have) been 4-0 down.

In that first period of play when Barcelona dominated, Arsenal looked shell-shocked. We had no answers for their stunning attacking play and we were fortunate to get to half-time without conceding.

The frustration I had at half-time was the inclusion of Cesc Fabregas. With Nasri available, I didn’t see the point of a clearly unfit Fabregas being on the pitch. We had Rosicky and Walcott on the bench, and Fabregas was dead on his feet. He hardly ran and couldn’t influence the game in the way that he usually could. He spent most of the game in and around the centre circle. But his influence towards the end of the game shows how much I know.

William Gallas went off with a re-occurrence of his previous injury just before the break and Alex Song slotted into the back line, with Denilson coming on in midfield.

Unfortunately though, the absence of Gallas proved costly.

For all their beautiful football, it took a simple ball over the top for Barcelona to open the scoring after only 25 seconds into the second half. For all of Song’s and Vermaelen’s strengths, Gallas is the one man who can cope best with through passes and balls over the top because of his recovery pace. Unfortunately, that was lacking and Ibrahimovic beat the offside trap and dinked the ball over a stranded Almunia.

On second viewing, it seemed like Almunia had no good reason to come out so much (given the angle Ibrahimovic had) and it gave the Swede an easy choice as he lofted the ball into the net.

It was a mistake from Almunia, but the defending wasn’t great either. It was a cheap goal and weathering the massive storm in the first half (and the heroic defending at times) it was a frustrating goal to concede.

That setback put Arsenal into the “defensive” mindset yet again and we played with the handbrake on, give Barcelona time and space to inflict damage. And 13 minutes later the same happened again.

Another ball over the top yet again found Ibrahimovic, who found himself in an identical position but this time lashed the ball in at the near post. 2-0 Barcelona and the tie was over. Almunia again didn’t cover himself in glory as he actually went down as the shot was taken, giving himself no chance to make a save. He should have stayed on his feet, but at the same time he was badly exposed again.

But then the turning point of the game.

Theo Walcott was introduced and made an immediate impact. The high-tempo performance from Barcelona (including their energetic full backs who are virtually like wingers) seemed to effect them and Theo’s pace down the right hand side was causing Maxwell all kinds of problems.

A nice run was spotted by Bendtner who played in a nice ball for Walcott, who drove into the box and hit a shot that went under Valdes.

Arsenal had a precious lifeline.

It sprung Arsenal into life and Theo down the right was causing havoc. Every time Arsenal had possession I was screaming for the team to play it to Walcott! Barcelona were petrified of his pace and with all the injury concerns Arsenal have I wouldn’t think twice about starting him at the Camp Nou. With his pace he is ideal for a counter attacking game, considering how high up the pitch Barcelona play.

And with that amazingly Barcelona looked a little tired. We had more possession but couldn’t really find that cutting edge, hardly giving Valdes anything to do.

But with 5 minutes of normal time remaining, a nicely headed assist from Bendtner found Fabregas only a couple of yards from goal. But the Arsenal captain was impeded by Puyol and Arsenal had a penalty!

Can you believe this game?!

So Arsenal amazingly had a chance to equalise, in a game where Barcelona probably should have killed off. Fabregas placed the ball on the spot and smashed the ball right into the net!

Arsenal 2, Barcelona 2. You couldn’t make this stuff up!

In the remaining minutes Arsenal and Barcelona did try to go for a winner but it was evident that both sets of players had given everything and had nothing left in the tank. And that’s hardly a surprise, given the intensity of the game.

A great game for the neutrals, and in the end a great game for Arsenal, everything considered.

Unfortunately though, Fabregas got a harsh yellow card after cleanly winning the ball and will miss the second leg at the Camp Nou. I’m not sure if it’s possible to appeal yellow cards in the Champions League but if so then Arsenal should have that looked at. But the way Cesc was hobbling around the pitch in the second half he probably wouldn’t be fit enough anyway.

On the plus side, Pique also got booked so he will miss the second leg as well. And because of Puyol’s late red card, he will also be out of the return game. Without their first choice central defenders, who knows what Arsenal can do next week?

Arsenal Player Ratings

Manuel Almunia: 8/10
Made some quick unbelievable saves in the first 15 minutes, literally keeping Arsenal not just in the game, but in the tie. Barcelona were wreaking havoc in the opening minutes and Almunia made some vital saves from Messi, Ibrahimovic and Xavi. Was slightly at fault for Barcelona’s two goals in the second half but the first half saves were that good he earns an 8.

Bacary Sagna: 7/10
Made a vital clearance off the line in the “Barcelona show” at the start of the game and did okay on the whole. Crossing was poor though when a decent cross would have been useful but full of running yet again.

William Gallas: 7/10
Only lasted 40 minutes before being stretchered off but struggled (like the rest of the team) to cope with Barcelona’s early pressure. Was solid after that though and helped the team go into the break without conceding.

Thomas Vermaelen: 6/10
Made some decent blocks but wasn’t good for Ibrahimovic’s second goal, where he inexplicably strayed forward only for the ball to be clipped over him and for Barcelona to score. Sometimes too eager to win the ball when it’s not even there to be won.

Gael Clichy: 8/10
Excellent performance going forward, making a headed chance for Bendtner who really should have scored. Worked well with Nasri on the left and kept Messi relatively quiet for the majority of the game. Coped with Daniel Alves well too.

Alex Song: 8/10
Apart from losing Ibrahimovic for the goals did excellent at the back when called upon. Did well in midfield as well and made some vital tackles and interceptions.

Abou Diaby: 6/10
Guilty of a lot of misplaced passes and a poor touch from the usually solid and reliable Diaby. Gave possession away needlessly when it was imperative that Arsenal retained it and seemed to be the most effected from Barcelona’s early onslaught in the opening 15 minutes.

Cesc Fabregas: 6/10
Considering he was injured it was a decent shift. The team did struggle though at times with his lack of fitness and at times in the first half it seemed like we were playing with 10 men. But his obvious class came through in the end and proved to be decisive in the last 10 minutes.

Samir Nasri: 7/10
Not as influential as he can be but that’s because he’s more suited to the Fabregas role. Linked up well with Diaby and Clichy and while he couldn’t really influence the game going forward as he would have liked he did track back well.

Andrei Arshavin: 6/10
Came off after only 27 minutes with an injury but was poor before that anyway. Gave the ball away cheaply several times and seemed to continue his poor form of late. I’m not sure this guys head is in the right place.

Nicklas Bendtner: 8/10
Put in a decent performance tonight. Had a glorious chance to score with a header in the second half and had another chance in the first half but failed to stay onside. He might not have scored but created both of Arsenal’s goals for Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas so deserves huge credit for influencing the Arsenal’s most important attacks moments.

Emmanuel Eboue: 7/10 (Replaced Arshavin 27′)
Did well when he came on, keeping possession well and beating players when needed. Offered that cover for Sagna as well and slotted back into the defence once Walcott was introduced in the second half. He adds that extra dimension to our attack and played well with Theo in the final half an hour.

Denilson: 7/10 (Replaced Gallas 45′)
Did okay and kept the game flowing well.

Theo Walcott: 9/10 (Replaced Sagna 66′)
Was fantastic when we came on, and his introduction changed the game. Was a constant threat down the right and his pace caused Maxwell all kinds of problems. Kept a cool head to score his goal and what a massive goal it turned out to be.