ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Arsenal - Barca end Champions League dreams again

Posted by David Young on 03/09/2011

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say you were beaten by a better team. It's not often that Arsenal have to admit that but Wednesday night's 3-1 defeat to Barcelona was one such occasion.

There is far to much hyperbole and exaggeration in football coverage but when the current Catalan team are described as "one of the greatest club sides in the game’s history”, it is hard to disagree. Whatever you may think of the club itself, the way it is run and the disgraceful way it sometimes behaves in the transfer market, there is no doubt that the current crop of players representing it are up there with the best of all-time and they certainly are the benchmark by which all teams at the top of today’s game have to measure themselves.

A Dejected Cesc After Barca'a First©Getty Images

Three weeks ago, Arsenal measured up very well indeed. Last night was a different story though as the Gunners tried to repel wave after wave of Barca attacking play in a match that was largely one-way traffic. The statistic that Arsene Wenger’s side couldn’t muster a single shot in the ninety minutes – either on or off target – really tells you all you need to know.

• Barca blog: To the attacker, the spoils

Despite conceding three goals, the Gunners actually defended well, particularly in the first half. Cesc Fabregas’s misplaced back-heel just before the break was an unnecessary error but it still took two sparkling pieces of football from Iniesta and Messi to ensure that full punishment was exacted. Some of the defending may have been desperate and last-ditch but it was clear that the Gunners were concentrating at a far higher level than we usually see from them.

The problem was that every time the ball was won, Barca almost immediately won it straight back mainly due to the intense chasing back they do when out of possession. Arsenal were simply unable to get a foothold in the game and could not get any sort of passing movement going.

Despite all that though, the sending off of Robin Van Persie whilst the score stood at 1-1 remains a major controversy and a big talking point. How much this impacted on the result and what might have happened had the Dutchman stayed on, we will never know. Wenger felt sure the Gunners would have snatched the tie if it had remained 11 vs 11. However, his bullishness was probably more about face-saving than anything else. Perhaps the fairest assessment was that his dismissal turned the chance of an improbable outcome into an impossible one.

What we can say about Van Persie’s sending off was that it was one of the most ridiculous refereeing decisions of the season. Neither of the yellow cards he received seemed particularly justified but, in particular, the second one for time-wasting was just baffling. He was already in motion to take a shot when the whistle was blown and the time between the whistle sounding and him kicking the ball was one second. That is a world away from cynically kicking the ball away to delay the re-start of play. In such a high profile match, you need officials who can exercise some common sense and who are able to see the bigger picture. Sadly, the Gunners were victims of an official that had the capacity for neither.

Over the past few years The Champions League has been littered with such refereeing performances. Chelsea also suffered against Barcelona in the home leg of their semi-final with the Spaniards in 2009. UEFA’s drive to be all-inclusive often means that referees from countries who don’t have the experience of officiating week-in and week-out at the highest level of the game get put in charge of matches way beyond their capabilities. Today, Arsene Wenger and Samir Nasri have been charged with improper conduct for comments they made to Massimo Busacca after the final whistle. Where, though, is the recourse for the clubs when referees turn in incompetent displays?

Still, nothing will change what happened now and the Gunners have to pick themselves up ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Manchester United. The fact that Arsenal are now out of the Champions League but United are yet to play their last-16 second leg match could have a big bearing on the teams that are selected. You would imagine that Alex Ferguson will be resting a few players ahead of their game with Marseille next Tuesday. Maybe Arsene Wenger will be tempted to take advantage and put out a stronger side than the one he might have fielded had last night ended more positively. We shall see.

It has been a disappointing couple of weeks. Though the Orient result was a fillip after the Carling Cup Final, last weekend’s display against Sunderland had Arsenal fans tearing their hair out again. It took a favour from Liverpool on Sunday to limit the damage of drawing a blank against the Black Cats. However, on the brighter side, the Gunners have their fate in the Premier League back in their own hands and the FA Cup still to play for. It is vital that the players put last night’s result behind them as quickly as possible and Old Trafford would be the ideal place to get things back on track.

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Comments

Posted by Sever on 03/10/2011

To be frank, I didn't feel confident with Walcott and Song unavailable and replaced by Abu Diaby and Rosicky. I was afraid of what the latter two might actually do to our midfield.

I must say Diaby overall surprised me, you felt his physical power in his runs and he seemed to put in alot of effort. Nasri was immense, going back and forth all night.

Fabregas and Rosicky on the other had a poor match in my view. And I'm furious with Wenger. At 1-1 and with V.Persie gone, with our defense beginning to buckle, he should have made changes. Why not take off the slow Rosicky and bring on Arshavin EARLIER to increase our pace on the break? Why wait until it was 3-1 and all momentum was lost to make those changes? Granted his changes worked marvelously in the first leg, but the circumstances were different this time. Maybe my evaluation is too harsh I don't know, but it's ultimately the result that decides.

Posted by titansgunner12thman on 03/10/2011

Wenger has to change this sides makeup. Starting with the defense. If we had any defense he would not have set back in a shell hoping against hope that we would not let a goal in. But in typical fashion we conceded a gift. And we all know Barca don't need much. I have said it and will say it until I turn blue in the face. Defense is the achilles heal of this team and Wenger won't address it. Until he does expect more heartaches.
Contrary to the articles author, our defense was not stellar at any point in the tie. And it goes against any logic that a team so weak defensively would try to only defend against Barca.
Wenger has to carry this burden and change. Or we will watch the same meltdown we have seen the past few years over and over again.

Posted by Singapore Arsenal Fans on 03/10/2011

Hi David Young and all Arsenal Fans out there, I'm an Arsenal fan since the George Graham era and I do not deny we lost to a better team. But I observed that when the score was 3-1, and we know we must score to make it 3-2 or otherwise being knocked out, we seem to give up on the fighting spirit and stop chasing for the cause. Do you think is it a case of us for the not having the legs after defending for large period of time, or is it a case of "alright we admit our fate for this tie, so let us conserve our energy for other competitions", or combination of both factors ?

Posted by Tommy Waa on 03/10/2011

Any reasonable person will agree that ARSENAl did not deserve to lose over two legs...
DAVID vs GOLIATH... David was shot in the back by the ref and by N. BENDTNER not taking his golden opportunity.

Shameless ref....

Arsenal deserve digity and credit, not antagonistic hyperbole.

Posted by Maran on 03/10/2011

Barca had not once, but twice shown Arsenal how wide the gulf of class was. It was rather embarassing watching Barcelona making monkeys of Arsenal throughout the whole match. They were running rings around us and when our boys finally won the ball, they cannot even muster a few passes together. Our best talents failed to show up. Persie was a stranger and Fabregas was a lost kid. Diaby and Rosicky? I reserve my comments on depth and quality of the squad. Only Nasri and Wishere had managed to show some passion. I agree the defenders worked hard and deserve the credit. But what about this team? It only goes to show the gaps in Arsene's experiment. Barca showed that the team with flowing football also needs strong defensive sense. The main difference between the teams is in the philosophy. It is apparent that what we need is not just technical ability, but the Will and Power to win balls. But these are not new lessons. We are a long way off the mark. And world of excuses will not help.

Posted by DCulbertson on 03/10/2011

Although we will never know the outcome of the match if it had been 11 v 11 for full time, the most disappointing aspect is that fans were robbed of a match that had the potential to be one of the most exciting of the season.

I am not one for conspiracy theories but this pushes the limit of my tolerance of the UCL.

Posted by DavidC on 03/10/2011

Agree with your overall analysis of the game. Although I am an Arsenal fan, I think it would have been a disaster for football if Arsenal have made it through.

For this game, I have to totally disagree with Wenger's defensive-minded tactic. It really made Arsenal " unArsenal like ". If we want to defend, we need to mark our opponent tight in every department, but we seeemed to have given Barca too much time on the ball. We made Barca look so superior. I think a lesser side in the English league would have done a better job in defending. In a way, it also signified the gap between a top English side vs. a top Spanish side, but in truth, this is certainly not the case. I think even Birmingham would have made the match a bit more competitive.

So, my final verdict is, Wenger does not know how to prepare his team to defend properly( this has happened time and time again in the past few seasons ). We need to look at the video of the match again to learn how Barca defend ! not kidding !

Posted by Vlai on 03/10/2011

Agree with your comment. Here my observation :-

- Poor defending tactics ( Arsenal does not know how to defend )

- Only player doing a proper job is Jack Wilshire and the back 4 + goal keeper.

- Something need to learn from this game not only the way Barca passes the ball, but most importantly, the way Barca defended everytime when Arsenal gets possession ( No time is given for Arsenal player to control of the ball and even all the Arsenal players around are marked tightly ).That why we never a more than 3 passes going. Think and analysis better in future !!!

- The first match at the Emirate was a tighter marking match, that's why we stand a chance.

- As soon as I saw Diaby and Rosicky,s name on the starting team sheet, I know we have no chance. Diaby played like he is taking his dog out in the park, no urgency at all.

- If every Arsenal player played with the same agression and mindset of Jack Wilshere, we will be a much better team.

Posted by Muntasir Rahman on 03/10/2011

I completely agree that the referee's decision to show the red card to Van Persie was unreasonably harsh, but his first yellow card was definitely justified with the unnecessary hit he gave the barcelona player. Also, we should also keep in mind the fact that barcelona as well were hurt at times by the referee. Messi definitely was fouled inside the box in the first half but no penalty was called. I think that even if we disregard refereeing influences, Arsenal were still much at fault for simply playing the entire game in fear of barcelona. There's a difference between respect and fear, and considering the way Arsenal were playing so uncharacteristically defensively even when they did have the ball, I think it's clear how the team felt. I'm a big supporter of Arsene Wenger, but in this game he should have either encouraged more attack or fielded an entirely defensive squad to begin with. They were toothless on the counterattack.

Posted by Martin Sarnecki on 03/10/2011

David, you failed to mention Busacca's key 'mistake', which came during that little fracas after the Wilshere incident. If you've seen the pictures, you'll know that three separate Barcelona players -- Abidal, Adriano and Valdes -- grabbed Arsenal players (van Persie and Nasri) by the neck. Right in front of the referee.

That's three blatant instances of a red-card offence that went unpunished. Van Persie's yellow for timewasting, or whatever it was supposed to be, pales into significance.

How do you think the estimable Swiss would have reacted to Arsenal players doing that?

No wonder RvP was furious.

And do you think there will be any retrospective bans? Well, we already know the answer to that, since the only disciplinary action by Uefa to come out of the referee's report targets Wenger and Nasri (of course).

Posted by Sam on 03/10/2011

Yeah another CL disappointment for the Gunners against Barca. You would be mad to say they didnt deserve it but the way it all went down on a number of levels leaves a bad taste in the mouth. There was the red card just as Arsenal looked like they wee starting to get a grip on the game, the constant and persistant diving and random acts of bad sportsmanship from the Barca players (they should ban players except capt talking to the ref like in rugby, it is a disgrace) and then there was the way Arsenal actually came into the game. Mentally they looked traumatised and only Wilshire looked really 'up for it'. Wenger has to put more courage into this side for these matches, give them the ability to stamp their authority on these games.
As for dodgy CL decisions I remember last year Barca v Inter, Motta was sent off for a dive by Busquets that could have changed the game. Barca and big decisions huh. Seems to be a pattern emerging!

Posted by Matt on 03/10/2011

All I can say is we were outplayed, simple as that. Arsene can be as bullish as he wants, but red card or not, we were outplayed.

There are some who say that we did not have Walcott or a fully fit Fabregas/RVP, and so we were not at full strength. They fail to notice however, that Barca were playing a left back and a midfielder in defence, and we could and should have exploited that better than just a own goal.

2 more trophies left, and I agree that we should do our best to topple Man U, both on the weekend and in the league. The players need to put their disappointment behind them and work hard again, something which a number of our players seem to have trouble doing.

Posted by grahammcg on 03/10/2011

David,
Very succinct.Xavi's comment that the Gunners didn't want to play shows a complete lack of understanding by him. Barca didn't let us play. They executed their game plan perfectly. It should have been our game plan. Their players were better than ours. Simply put - we couldn't match their style of play. We need changes if we want to beat them in the future.

Posted by Andreas on 03/10/2011

I enjoyed reading the blog, thanks David.

As always, the hyperbole in the press has been wildly over the top. One week we are a brilliant team fulfilling all the latent potential and fighting for the quadruple.
Now, Arsenal are a ruined team and Wenger's "philosophy" is a failed one. Presumably he should now be sacked and half of all the players sold. It's plain insanity...

This is all very tiresome. At the end of the day, we lost to one of the best teams to ever play the game, which is utterly respectable. We are now in two competitions, of which winning either of the two should be considered a solid success.

Posted by Tunde on 03/10/2011

Barca had 75% possession, yet only managed 1 goal in the 1st half...same thing in the first leg. Arsenal would definitely have come back into the game? Greatest team of all time? Why haven't they won the champions league season in-season out?

UEFA should just cover their face in shame...this game needs technology...referees are bound to make mistakes, a lot of people suffer as a result of poor decisions...players, manager,fans,there is just no substitute for technology.
Wenger is right by labelling UEFA a dictatorship...pray the charge against him compares to rubbing salt into an already deep and infected wound. Bunch of jokers!!!

Posted by JC on 03/10/2011

I fail to understand why all the pundits keep talking about how, poor refereeing aside, "the best team won." The best team does not always win -- that's why teams have been able to beat, say, Arsenal in the EPL over the past few years. They use a particular tactic that trumps skill and talent, and they manage to pull off an upset. Arsenal's defensive, counter-attacking approach was taken to extremes (e.g. 0 shots on goal) at the Nou Camp, but it could very well have yielded victory if they hadn't been reduced to 10 men early in the second half.

Posted by yondo bruno on 03/10/2011

,thanks to asernals the day they beat barce in their field,they taught they have come to their lines lite to beat n defeat barce,weather d world complain of refree spoiling the match,wat did asernal played in the first half to show that they wanted to win n beat n eliminate barce?first and second half no ball on target,wat a big shame.well to me,it was a big n gud game that was played,let asene wenger n his boys learn from big boys that knows champion ligue,today the world is crying fowl.was asernal ready to play barce at nou camp?were they up to that task at nou cam?noooo.

Posted by GJay on 03/10/2011

Dave, I absolutely agree with you on your article. I believe Arsenal should keep their focus and believe in themselves. Sometimes the team lacks that tough character trait that someone like Mourinho manages to instill in his teams.

Arsenal and Barca are seen as the two European teams who play with a similar style, unfortunately Barca are way ahead of them in that style. This means that anytime they meet Barca, they need to play above themselves in order to match them properly, which they did in the first game.

As for the referee and officiating in general, am looking forward to the day UEFA will boldly and and truthfully admit that a particular referee is going to be sanctioned for getting things wrong and destroying a game. Trust me, if they set an example, referee's will think deep before they pump air into their whistles in such high profile matches.

Posted by ja wallin on 03/10/2011

It was a tough game, and we were going through at 1-1 when VanP was sent off. Even though it was a bad call, the Dutchman should not have been on a yellow already for his STUPID push in the face of the petulant Alves. With that said, Bendtner's miss on the pass from Wilshire at the end summed up the forwards contributions every time he gets the chance to stake his place.

As we move forward the coach needs to get his tactics correct. Dump Rosicky from every team sheet; play Nasri in the Cesc role; put Gibbs in at LB in place of the ineffective Clichy; and give Ramsey some game time. And in goal, OMG we have issues now.

My team for the remainder of the season: G ?; D Sagna, Johan, Laurent, Gibbs; M Ramsey, Wilshire, Nasri (Cesc); F Walcott (Eboue), VanP (Chamakh), Nasri (Arshavin).

Song can interchange with Ramsey and Wilshire when we need to rotate, and maybe Bendtner occasionally, but limit time for Rosicky, Diaby, and Denilson.

We still have a chance for 2 trophies! Go Gunners!!

Posted by Onyibo on 03/10/2011

Fantastic analysis, sir. Yours is the most dispassionate synopsis of the game that I've heard from an Arsenal fan since the game. It's easy to blame the woeful refereeing we saw on Tuesday, but the truth is that Arsenal did not deserve to go through on the strength of their performance in the Camp Nou, particularly considering their much better performance at the Emirates. That said, I'm a Man u fan, and I hope we can pick ourselves up from a horrible week to beat you guys on Saturday!

Posted by Tee Song on 03/10/2011

The RvP sending off wasn't the only ludicrous decision. Abidal's choke hold on RvP is a major talking point...IF anyone were talking about. If Diaby grabbing the back of Barton's neck is a straight red then that has to be too. The silence over that speaks volumes.

And yes, I recognize that Barca did play an outstanding game but it is frustrating to see decisions of the sort that were made last Tuesday night.

Posted by SCHOOP on 03/10/2011

Good blog. I feel that we are definitely enjoying are better run of form than Man U, especially since we lost to "THE BEST TEAM EVER". Onward GUNNERS!

Posted by Mark Northern on 03/10/2011

Why do you "experts" keep forgetting that Arsenal was ahead on aggregate before the senseless, idiotic red card on RVP? Barcelona made lots of their short, pretty passes... but they didn't go ahead until the Gunners were playing a man down. Don't treat that as incidental. One senseless decision ruined what could have been a great match. Arsenal showed they were the fitter club during the first leg and could have showed the same in Barcelona if they had played 11-on-11.

Posted by ooga aga on 03/10/2011

to the author, thanks for recognizing who deserved to go through, but if you are going to mention reffing errors in this tie, of which RVP's sending off arguably was the worst, you need to mention all the errors, which in general went against Barca in the two legs.

in the end, the best team went through, and justice is served.

Posted by youngGun15 on 03/10/2011

Great post david.. we need to refocus and work hard LETS GO ARSENAL!!!

Posted by bryan on 03/11/2011

I'm a united fan, but even i got gutted by rvp's sending off. may the best team win tomorrow.

Posted by SHAWN on 03/11/2011

the ref obviously wanted to make up for Van Persie's earlier behavior...the crude and 'red card' challange on Messi...Arsenal should also have given up a penalty after Messi's was obviously brought down. Sorry Gunners, this was justice at play. But if justice should continue to prevail, Arsenal deserve the Premier League.

Posted by Maran on 03/11/2011

It so happens that all the promises of the season will start collapsing like a pack of cards come Feb and Mar. Either injuries will plague us or the fixtures pile up, or referees, or something out there affects the good run. Conspiracy? Maybe. But how familiar it is to see hopes dissipate at this part of the year, year after year. It has been about almost 5 years since we said the boys were growing up. Even neutrals have started questioning the credentials of Arsenal being a good team. We still have the Premier League, which is very much for us to lose and the FA Cup. We got to raise the game and play cup final every match. But knowing how Arsenal players fair in cup final (remember League Cup), I am sceptical. Yet, being a faithful, what I desire is for the team to pick up and run. And Arsene for goodness sake, leave Rosicky, Diaby and Denilson out of this endeavour. It irks me to see these players scuppering the otherwise good teamwork.

Posted by Sam H. on 03/11/2011

My simple opinion is that most of Europe's nation is anti English. Simply out of envy?? Or probably due to the oh-so over-hyped notion that some of our players are "too" good e.g. Beckham or Rooney. And then there is the English press, that seems to step on everyone's toe.

So! Even how much I hate and know for a fact that referees will always be biased against an English team, I believe the only way to stop all this hoopla is for the English media and some of our English players to start behaving and improve their PR. Otherwise, we may just see Wenger being ban to the stand in the future for staring at the referee!!! :O

Posted by ifeanyi udemezue on 03/11/2011

It was not an encouraging performance though the referee did not help. Too many "ifs", the most relevant being that we might have scaled through if Bendtner had the presence of mind to score when he was played in by Wilshere towards the end of the game. For me, we played ourselves into trouble when we failed to emerge at the summit of an otherwise easy group though one must admit that the experience was worth while. I hope and pray that this game will not adversely affect our boys at this business end of the season. The league and FA cup beckon. Also, UEFA and FIFA indeed must find ways to sanction errant referees and they must not assign big games to these mediocre referees. Perhaps, their war with Arsene Wenger will afford them an opportunity to clean up the refereeing department. The embarrassment is becoming unbearable. I wish that Wenger will go all the way with them. The worst punishment would be for them to fine him and give him touch line ban for two or three games.

Posted by kyle on 03/11/2011

Barca deserved to go through. in the first leg messi's scored but the official said it was offside ( it wasn't) and in the second leg in the first half barca had a penalty waved away ( again a wrong decision) so clearly barca deserved to go through.

Posted by tttt on 03/11/2011

David, from your article I can tell you are a very good arsenal fun and you wrote this out of frustration from being outplayed by super class barca. if you want to be a good journalist of soccer, stop being ambassador of a team in your article, talk about football (from both teams). Blame your stupid RVP for getting an easy 1st card, at some point you could also end with 10 from a penalty foul....ooh, you forgot one thing to mention, barca past chelsea at the bridge with 10 man in which they got undeserved red card in Abidal....oooh and other thing, inter eliminated barca while they were 10, why arsenal failed? you have the answer

Posted by Emmanuel Tabona on 03/11/2011

“Red card killed game for Arsenal”, fumes Wenger
Which game Mr Wenger? Your team has no shorts at goals and you call a game. Barca was practicing with movable cones. I think it’s high time football adopt the volleyball rule, where you are forced to attack your opponent on the third touch otherwise you forfeit the point. In volleyball, you are allowed to pass the ball two times on your defensive side and the third one you launch an attack.

Posted by Philip on 03/11/2011

The referee was an ass. So was RvP for the first card.

We cannot control FIFA,FA, Eufa, etc. We can only control ourselves, how we play and our own conduct. Let's pick ourselves up, get to work and win.

If we don't win silver, we will have won the inner game. RESPECT starts with self. Let refs, FIFA, FA, Eufa, etc. act like asses and disrespect themselves and the game. That is not our issue. How we play and conduct ourselves is the issue. It is the only issue. It is the one we control.

Everything else is just noise.

Posted by CK on 03/11/2011

How many improvement been made when you compare the rules in soccer in 1980 and now. Why 'blind spots', grey area still around to blur the good game. Fans pay to watch a fair game and no complain to lose by ability, techique. Don't bite the bullet, instead we have to unite to ask for change to improve the standard of soccer

Posted by John Holder on 03/11/2011

I just wish that the Gunners would stay calm when they are being fouled. I understand that, in the heat of the battle, that they would let the referee and other officials do their job.
They have suffered greatly this year by retaliating and Tuesday was a prime example.
Please do not let Man U get under thier all too thin skins on Saturday

Posted by blaque on 03/11/2011

We could talk about 'wacky' referee decisions all week and yet all end up where we started. I have supported arsenal for over 14years now and it is still evident where the paramount issues are. Defence: Wenger inherited a bullish, dogged backline which was essentially english. I mentioned english because it seems that in the makeup of other big teams in the EPL, THE ENGLISH PRESENCE IS QUINTESSENTIAL to success. Just appears that the english blokes have the heart to carry their teams along. The defence line has been arsenes' achilles heel ever since the departure of that amazing rear guard and arsenes' continual bad choices for cover(anyone seen silvestre, Cygan around) The midfield arguably has been his greatest strength yet its still the question of desire for me!!! Attack really would not want to go into this, if He consistently wants to follow the barca trend with the 4-3-3 formation you must have animals in the attacking third who can take on opposition players and hit the ball

Posted by JoeUSA on 03/12/2011

I agree with your assessment. However, as others have, I would question a couple of Arsene's selections. Why start Rosicky instead of Arshavin? Obviously for his defensive work rate, but the quick feet of Arshavin might have provided an outlet while Rosicky just sat in front of the back line. Nasri did his best on the opposite flank. And then, if you know you are going to have to work hard and defend, why play Diaby? Despite his relatively poor form, Denilson has to be an obvious choice over a player who takes far too long in possession and makes poor decisions against the world's best team at closing down.

But overall, the team showed a lot of character and the entire backline, Nasri, and Wilshere in particular put in heroic effort. Let's hope they have the legs to take on United.

Posted by edgar on 03/12/2011

Hi folks, let's try to put things in a proper/healthy perspective. The reason why Arsenal draws a lot of criticism and admiration at the same time is that it is an outstanding club that brings a lot of expectations to the world of soccer, but just like any other club, it has its own weaknesses. Even though it hasn't won a thing in the last five years, it's been pretty involved in every competition year-in year-out and is always a joy to watch.
The loss to Barca had different dimensions - one may argue, as many of you have, that Barca was a better team. Barca have been favorites in the UCL for 3 seasons running but didn't win it last season! Corollary: The best team doesn't always win. The other argument is that the ref ruined the game. May be, may be not. We will never know for sure. Even at 11 vs 11, Arsenal could still have lost (may be through spot kicks).In sum, don't read too much into the loss. The team is great,so is the coach. But they need to improve in certain areas.

Posted by Glenn Irwin on 03/12/2011

I totally agree with the majority of comments, firstly why is Rosicky starting the game, in such an important fixture we should have our best 11 on the field, Rosicky is a sub, why leave Arshavin and bendtner off till the game is out of our reach, the substitutions should have been made when RVP was disgustingly sent off, what a joke.
Please Arsene you must put our best 11 on no matter who we are playing.
bring on Man UTD.
lets go gunners, we can take the league and FA Cup.

Posted by Patrick Tong on 03/12/2011

The high pressure game employed by Barca can only be sustained by intensity generated by the midfielders & the right balance in the team. Barca is more than just Messi. Ineista, Mascherano and Xavi are all part of this back bone.

Look at how Spain controlled Germany in the semis of the World Cup. Very few teams can match Barca and Spain. Most team are left with shock and awe. Germany could not muster a string a 3 passes before the Spanish harrassed them out of the pitch, same here.

You could say that bringing in Arshavin earlier would have made a difference, the red card ws unfortunate but from what I am reading most agreed that the better team won.

And I will tell you this as a consolation, you put in any English team and they would have been in "shock & awe". Arsenal has to refocus for the Premier League and this is easier said than done.

The good news for the rest of Europe is that, Barca cannot sustain this for the next 10 years or can they?.

Posted by Bruce on 03/12/2011

To Emmanuel Tabona,

The red card was really the pivotal moment, take a look at the World Cup Final, the Dutch lost after Heitinga was sent off. Thus, it goes to show how important an extra man is against a team like Spain and Barca.

And with regards to your volleyball theory, why not you just give up watching soccer altogether and your idea makes no sense. I heard basketball allows the use of hands, so why not we implement it to all outfield players..DUH? Come on, different sports have different rules, dont bring rules from other sports into the game.

On a sidenote, it is imperative to bring in technology into the game. It's weird to use technology to invent balls for World Cups and all but not exactly using it for pivotal decisions? Come on FIFA...

Posted by shortycaptain on 03/12/2011

Allow me to a devil advocate here, how come Barca and their players did not say a thing when they were robbed of a header goal by Messi in the first leg? How come they did not say a thing when a foul against Messi in the box in first half of second leg which automatically resulted in the PK? An many mores, which could resulted in different outcome as well. Barca and their fans also felt they were robbed of many things but never blamed on the Ref. or gave creative excuses for their defeat. With all the respect to Arsenal and EPL, why are so many teams/coach in general EPL got in trouble with the Ref and the Leagues? Plain and simple, they tend to blame the Ref for their defeats and never take a real look at their shortcomings, learn from them to do better next time. Barcelona set standard for all teams to emulate: let their superior football on the pitch speaks for itself.

Posted by Anonymous on 03/12/2011

paying overpriced tickets to support an underachieving football team seems to be the norm as far as arsenal fans are conserned. arsene wenger and the board wont change a thing as long as the money keeps comming in, and as long as they can brainwash the fans with excuse upon excuse season after season in order to keep the fans paying their hard earned money to them why would they change. its gone beyond stuborness with wenger now. the moment arsenal start basing their season around trying to win the carling cup then you know things need to change, but it wont and the lies will keep on convincing the gooners fans to keep spending their money on a team with an average age of 24 that already looks washed up.
six years ago arsenal won the FA cup, which meens that no progression or improvement has been made since then due to the fact the trothy cabinet is empty. the only thing that suprises me now is how they still convince the fans to pay overpriced tickets for for no return

Posted by abd malik on 03/12/2011

all trophy dreams is over for Arsene Wenger & Arsenal

Posted by Anonymous on 03/12/2011

arsene wenger, more like mr scrooge if you ask me. their is no reason why he is being so stubborn in the transfer market. he is treating all the money arsenal make as though its his own and if you ask me, arsenal are no longer a football team but a very good money making scheme. the only ones to lose are the fans who keep paying to watch them. if it was all about watching pretty football i would go and watch barca. but there comes a time when the amount of money being spent on arsenal match tickets needs to be justified, and we believe securing a champs league place is classed as succesfull for a sopposedly big club like arsenal then every arsenal fan including myself are more stupid then then we look. arsene wenger and the board are a bunch of con artists wont stop conning as long as the money keeps comming in

Posted by Anonymous on 03/12/2011

all bad losers come up with excuses, i should no im one them. but you arsene wenger are the bigest bad loser of them all. we new we wouldnt win the champs league but thought at least the carling cup would go our way, but even that is beyond this weak team. the fans are being destoyed by your stubborness and your scrooge like greed when it comes to money arsene wenger and it destoying the fans. if you care about the fans of arsenal then spend money on players who will make an impact at the club. cos if you dont you are basically laughing at every arsenal fan who pays money to support the club.

Posted by Anonymous on 03/12/2011

sack arsene wenger now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by otasben on 03/12/2011

it would have be very embarrassing if arsenal push barca out of champions league.

Posted by christopher on 03/12/2011

its expensive being an arsenal fan and what do we get in return, zero,zilch,nothing. there is no point moaning about wenger cos as long as he keeps making them money he can do what he wants. how can someone keep believing in the confidence of his team when its so obvious it doesnt exist, except in the most overated player in the premiership whose name is bedtner. as far as im concerned my money is gonner be spent on my wife and kids from now on, and mabey i'll watch an arsenal match on telly if its on. arsenal aint getting another penny out of me. how can one of the richest clubs in the world be so stingy when it comes to buying football stars is beyond me. the kids have had more then enough chances to prove themselves. if arsenals attacking football is so great how come they couldnt even muster one single shot against a makeshift second string barca defence.

Posted by P Tong on 03/13/2011

You could say that bringing in Arshavin earlier would have made a difference, the red card ws unfortunate but from what I am reading most agreed that the better team won.

And I will tell you this as a consolation, you put in any English team and they would have been in "shock & awe". Arsenal has to refocus for the Premier League and this is easier said than done.

The good news for the rest of Europe is that, Barca cannot sustain this for the next 10 years, can they !!

Posted by Devadass Ramano on 03/13/2011

I am a fan of Arsenal but really disappointed by the decision taken by Arsene and the performance of players. Doyou remember when you last won a trophy and how long we will keep maintainng such a worst record . A bird in the nest is worth twice of that in the bush. Carling Cup wasmost prominent but Arsene is looking forward for champion league. Eventually , Arsenal lost both ofthem. If only he could have put all the key players , Arsenal could have won the cup intead of unforgetable and unforgiven mistake committed by the players. Would you believe it within a couple of weeks , Arsenal lost 3 trophies and still there is no hopefor the last one.All teams have sustained weaknesses but yet they are thriving to improve and perform but it is only Arsenal proves to be an exception . To be honest, I am under tension and stress to watch Arsenal play because they are always uncertain.

They could have won against Manchester United but it is a big shame to have produced such a result.

Posted by Devadass Ramano on 03/13/2011

Wenger has to decide on his future strategy but we are looking forward to see Arsenal with a different play technique , very fast and energetic and going for goal.We can only hope for next year .

I leave this to the discretion of management to approve a new play style but it is about time to have a change.

Thanks
Regards

Posted by MoMFeI on 03/13/2011

I am too bored to see this kind of comment anymore.
Before the game started, i always heard the beautiful comment which claims that "we are strong team and able to win this and that". But once the game get started, the style of playing, the intention of players on the pitch are very disappointed. I didn't see the team right now have strong mental like Thierry Henry's era.
I strongly believe you MUST do something to the team especially the CAPTAIN on the pitch. He is the one to lead the team to attack and defend. If the captain does not have good mental and intention to win, surely the team will not perform well.
There is a good example, Arsenal always keep going to attack no matter the score is 1-0 or 2-0. The final result always 4 or 5 goals and opponent have no chance to bounch back during Henry's era. This is what we unable to see in these few years.

Posted by big z on 03/13/2011

Listen all english supporters especially arsenal supporters. The first leg barca should of been two nil up talking about bad referee calls van persie should of gotten a red from the shuv in dani alves face then he stepped in messi's ankle and did not get a second yellow and u cursing the referree. U arsenal fans shud be thanking the referee for keepin u in this game. Against barca if barca had gotten all the clear calls from d first leg it would of ended and embarrassing score for arsenal in both legs so please stop all this bullshit about calls going barcas way because that is not so if i was to review the tape from. The first leg this blog could not hold. All the calls that went against barca
l supporters the match that played at the camp nou should of
been over from the first half forget that it should of been over from the first leg and let me
Fdeyexplain both lionel messi was robbed a goal in the first leg barca 2 nil up at the emirates things would of probably gotten worst the goal was called offside wrong fully the replay clearly showed that messi was behind pedro when pedro struck the ball on the keeper and messi followed up headed the ball

Posted by big Z on 03/13/2011

@ shortycaptain u asked some excellent questions that arsenal fans need to hear! And then they will come to the painful conclusion that they where totallly outplayed and barca is da better team

Posted by mins on 03/13/2011

I wonder why Arsenal fans keep complaining about the referee while they could not even make a string of four passes, also with no short on or off target. Barca had much to complain about on emirates with a disallowed GOAL and a penalty denied also at Nou Camp we saw a clear penalty denied but they didn't even complain Arsenal have to "Sportmaship" and not being cry babies.

Posted by Casey on 03/13/2011

All I ask is please bench Diaby and Denilson the rest of the season or better yet release them!

Posted by Anonymous on 03/13/2011

the excuses arsene wenger comes out with are perfetic now. i for sure aint going to believe anything he says anymore, cos its all lies aimed at keeping the gunners faithfull paying there hard earned money to him and the board. i say to him cos he treats the money like its his own. why else is he so stingy with it. as far as im conserned arsenal are an expensive pointless habbit that i can do without. ive got better things to be spending my money on. QPR are the nearest club to where i live.

Posted by Mike Achimugu on 03/13/2011

LETS FACE FACTS HERE; WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT WE ARE, ALL OF US, LOVERS OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME 1st AND FOREMOST, BEFORE WE ARE CLUB FANS. FOR THAT SAKE ALONE, HOW CAN ANYONE THINK IT FAIR FOR ARSENAL TO HAVE WON THAT GAME? THAT WOULD BE INJUSTICE TO LOVERS OF THE GAME. THAT SAID, HOW WILL YOU JUSTIFY THE 1st CARD THAT RVP EARNED? IF HE WAS NOT CARELESS THERE, WOULD THE 2nd CALL HAVE MATTERED? RVP REFUSED TO BE CALM AFTER HIS NECK WAS GRABBED, AND THAT EXPOSES A MAJOR FLAW IN THE ARSENAL PHILOSOPHY; U NEED EXPERIENCE IN BULK COS THAT GIVES YOU THE CHARACTER WHEN NEEDED. THIS BUNCH OF SPOILT KIDS AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE. AND WHAT ABOUT THE PENALTY DENIED BARCA? WHAT IF ARSENAL HAD SCORED A GOAL FOR THEMSELVES? TO BE FAIR, BARCA DESERVED TO WIN. ENYIMBA FC FROM NIGERIA WOULD PLAY BETTER THAN WHAT ARSENAL DID ON THE NIGHT. AND PLEASE TELL ME, DID ARSENAL PLAY BETTER THAN BARCA WHEN THEY WON 1st LEG? WHY DID ANYBODY EXPECT THEM TO OUST BARCA? ARSENE NEEDS TO CHECK HIS STYLE AGAIN.

Posted by Leo Kearley on 03/14/2011

If Bendtner's late game chance goes in the net rather than missing the result would have been a 3-2 win to Barcelona and Arsenal go through on the away goals rule. All of the critism or measurment of the 'gulf' between Barcelona and other more mortal teams then goes out of the window! Football is a funny old game and Barcelona knows how to play at a high tempo for large sections of the game and they have as a team the talent and skill to keep pressuring the opposition for long periods of time. Arsenal however, proved themselves to be very resilient and capable of resisting this irresistable force pretty much throughout this two legged cup tie and ended up losing by the odd goal.

Finally, Barcelona are on a run of their finest form at present and certain individuals are exemplory. Arsenal on the other hand are not at their peak and they are missing some of their key players in goal, defence and attack.

Maybe not so much of a 'gulf' as people are trying to make out this year.

Posted by kent charlery on 03/14/2011

I storngly believe barca pay referee every time their backs are against the ropes and that is somthing uefa need to look in to, because it happen to often when they need to win a big game.

Posted by christopher on 03/14/2011

another injury what a supprise. it makes you wonder what diet these players are on cos it seems that the grass on which they play on is made of stronger stuff then they are. whats the point having a decent squad of players if there is no consistency between them due to injury. barca dont seem to have these probs, so why does arsenal. im now convinced arsenal are just in it for the money and have no intention of pleasing the fans who actually pay money into the club on tickets. i rally think its time now to show the greddy gits at arsenal that unless they start changing there ways the fans wont pay there wages anymore.

Posted by buzho on 03/14/2011

D fact is AW does not understand ds game anymore.they should sack him and his useless philosophy.

Posted by futnection on 03/14/2011

Arsenal are still developing. This has been an important season for us mentally. There is only room for improvement.

Posted by Gordy on 03/14/2011

I'm glad there are plenty arsenal fans responding to this article who agree the red card was not decisive in the outcome. I am not upset that RVP got sent off for a ridiculous decision, I'm upset that his sending off has given Arsene and his players another excuse not to improve the team and themselves. They sell us these excuses every season and frankly and tired of it. After the mauling last season (11 v 11 mind you) and the complete dominance in the 1st half, to now come back and say that Arsenal - a team that lost away to Shakhtar, Braga and Birmingham - would have won the tie after 90mins had it not been for the red card is simply an attempt to insult our intelligence. It reeks of the excuses after England's WC defeat. If we carry on agreeing with these excuses and effectively living in denial, Arsenal will not be winning any silverware anytime soon.

Posted by Anonymous on 03/14/2011

as an arsenal fan i believe all gooners faithfull are stupid if they keep lining the pockets of the greedy board members and even arsene wenger. just when you think he cant possibly have anymore excuses for the team that keeps failing he suprises everyone by justifying his his teams inability to succeed. there is a majority of arsenal fans that want him to buy proven big game players in positions that there needed, but he keeps having confidents in the players that keep failing all the time. WHY!! six years ago arsenal won the FA cup which proves that arsenal are not getting better and stronger but are actually getting worse as the team of today havnt won anything at all. im not the most intellegent of people around but even i can see through arsene wengers lies now, cos if the whole idea of a new stadium was so arsenal could compete against the like of manu and chelsea in the transfer market why hasnt he done so yet. ARSENAL ARE TAKING US FOR A RIDE AND THATS THAT.

Posted by Anonymous on 03/14/2011

While I agree the second yellow was absolutely ridiculous, RvP never would've been sent off if he had controlled his temper and not gotten the first yellow. Completely unnecessary. This loss weighs most heavily on Wenger. He should've brought in Arshavin much earlier. For long stretches, he was the only one displaying any energy or fighting spirit, with the exception of an excellent Almunia. The only two notable players on the pitch for Arsenal. One title left to contend for so make it count, Gunners!

Posted by Rithvik on 03/15/2011

Your description of RVP's red card turning an improbable outcome into an impossible one is spot on. It's a shame, really, because Busacca has a rather good reputation and to be honest I felt somewhat relieved prior to the match that he was the assigned official. It just reiterates the scarcity of truly good match officials- no one has reached the stature of Collina since he left.

As good as Barca was (and they were very, very good), Arsenal was just a missed Bendtner chance away from winning the tie.

Though Barca dominated possession over both legs, I feel like Wenger's overall approach was relatively positive. I liked seeing Arsenal try to actually play Barca instead of parking the (air)bus. The shame of it is that the approach was unsuccessful, making future Barca opponents even more likely adopt more reactive tactics against them.

Posted by Patrick Beckford on 03/15/2011

All I got to say is...you cant blame the referee, Barcelona had a PK not called on the first half of the second leg and a goal taken away on the first leg. So I know its hard for all you gunners, but stop crying, your team isn't clutch enough to win big games, enough said! Regarding the Chelsea game two years ago, lets not forget Barca was unfairly playing a man down due to a non existent foul on Anelka, Abidal was sent out. Also a PK not called at Camp Nou after a foul Ashley Cole had on Dani Alves...so the bad refereeing has affected both side in both elimination rounds, Barca was just able to overcome it with better soccer!

Posted by arsenal all the way!!! on 03/15/2011

again, another upset by arsenal.there can be do denying that barca was the better team,but arsenal just lacked in charisma and confidence.they were either too arrogant or too pressured by their stunning win against the catalan side in the first leg.even though rvp's sending off was harsh(one of the worst refereeing decisions in football history) it gave no reason for arsenal to not fight back, to make most of current situation. the gunners played defensive, too defensive in fact. barca can unlock any defense at the blink of an eye, an their passing game just slaughtered arsenal's style of play.i am an arsenal fan but we kust lost our confidence, we counldn't even get five consecutive passes. barca had to score to win, so they played offensive. so we had to take this advantage and play offensive too. barca struggle when they are pressured, so with the likes of rvp, nasri, chamakh and arshavin, we could have dominated them.

we have to baounce back better if we want to win a trophy.

Posted by ikenna on 03/15/2011

Arsenal would have won with 11 on the field. Of all the Barca possessions in the first house how many saves did Alumnia make. Sczecny didn't even make any. If not for the foolish back pass by Cesc Fabregas, The first half would have ended zeroes. In the second half Arsenal started better. They had the first corner which resulted in the equaliser and they also had the first chance of the half were Van Persie was flagged offside and was subsequently sent off and that changed the game. Barcelona would have found it hard to win that game with eleven because just like at the Emirates, they would have been run over in the last 30 minutes. Why? They can't sustain that tempo for 90 mins and with Arsenal attacking them like in Emirates, They would have tired. I believe the ref changed the game.

Posted by Frank on 03/15/2011

Talking about bad refeering then talk about Messi's penalty that was missed in the first half as this could have opened the flood gates at an earlier stage of the game but a bad call made it an "IF" same thing with RVP being sent off how do you know that Barca would not have scored two more goals with him on the pitch, again "IF" and as others including me recall Inter beat Barca last year with 10 men so why couldn't Arsenal? Always an "IF" with every call so don't feel bad these calls will happen and continue to happen and teams and fans will always feel cheated as Barca fans would have felt the same on Messi's penalty if the scoreline would have stayed 1-1

Posted by Tuan on 03/18/2011

It is hard for me to admit we were beaten by a better side it happened, but the part that makes me sick is way barca and spainish sides go down rather easily it is shameful and typical that referees fall for that crap all the time. barca does not need there help they are good enough.

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