Morning everyone,
I don't want to go into too much detail on the Barca game Tuesday night. As we expected they came at us straight from the start and contained them extremely well in my opinion. Yes they were good at creating space but failed to take advantage of it until the last minute of the half. Why were they struggling to take advantage of it? Good organisation on our part. The midfield sat deep and the trio of Cesc, Jack and Diaby did a pretty decent job of protecting pur defence. However, it was the former who would provide the home side with a helping hand. Just as it looked we would see the half out Cesc attempted to play a silly backheel to Wilshere. It was intercepted and picked up by Iniesta, he played through Messi who flicked the ball over Almunia and finished well. It was a sickening blow. Having defeneded so well as a team, you want to at least make Barca work for a goal instead of gifting them one.
At half-time it was clear Wenger would have to alter his tactics. We now needed a goal but also had to be wary of the threat Barca posed at the other end. We got our goal in somewhat bizzare fashion. A Samir Nasri corner was headed into the net by Sergio Busquets. A hilarious own goal and it couldn't happen to a bigger cunt (unless it was Danny Alves). It was a huge boost for the players but nobody could have predicted what was to happen next. Cesc played a ball over the top to the offside Van Persie who (not knowing he was offside) had a shot. This clearly pissed off Massimo Busacca who decided to give Van Persie his second yellow card which meant his night was over. It was the most ridiculous decisions I'd seen in a long time and I'd seen my fair share of rubbish calls. There was one second between the time the whistle was blown and when Robin kicked it. Busacca had made a tring of poor decisions on the night but this was by far the worst and it would be one that changed the game.
Twenty minutes from time Barca regained their lead. A beautiful swiftly flowing move resulted in Xavi finding the back of the net, albeit via the deflection from Sagna. Now it was an uphill task for us to get back in this game. Trying to get forward with no striker to aim at really was difficult, although it was a challenge we shouldn't have had to deal with. We wouldn't even get a chance to respond. Pedro was brought down by Koscielny, clear penalty and no complaints. Surprisingly Busacca got something right. Yet still, we only needed a goal to put ourselves in a winning position. That chance we all craved came moments from full-time. Wilshere's persistance won him possession deep in Barca's half and he played a sublime ball to Bendtner who's first touch was just terrible and Mascherano was able to get back and intervine. That was it, we had a chance to really sicken them but messed it up. You can only help but wonder what would have been the outcome had that chance fallen to RVP who should have been on the pitch. Thanks again Busacca.
That was that. Our players had given it everything and were undone in the end by a combination of silly errors, a refereeing howler and Barca brilliance. Its hard not say you feel unjustified. When your playing the best team in the world you want to be able to give them a game with your best players at your disposal and more importantly 11 vs 11. I know for a fact we would have had a better chance with Walcott, Song an perhaps Vermaelen in the side but that's football.
Here are my player ratings:
Szezesny: 6 - Had to come off early with a finger injury.
Sagna: 6 - Could have done with more help dealing with Villa and Adriano.
Djourou: 7 - The Swiss men had a good game, he's made incredible progress this season.
Koscielny: 7 - Seems to have put the Carling Cup Final behind him. Commanding performance.
Clichy: 7 - Wasn't helped by Nasri as much as he would have liked but had a really good game all the same.
Diaby: 5 - Very quiet, not a natural defensive midfielder either.
Wilshere: 8 - Brilliant performance. This boy is simply breathtaking
Fabregas: 5 - Bad day at the office for Cesc. Hamstring clearly affected his performance and eventually tweaked.
Rosicky: 6 - Worked very hard but offered little going forward.
Nasri: 7 - Kept possession well when we needed him to but the defensive side of his game was poor.
Van Persie: 6 - Quiet night for the Dutchman and was wrongly sent off. Appaling decision, rightly furious.
Subs:
Almunia: 8 - Incredible display considering he came off the bench. Has a big part to play for the next few weeks in Szezesny's absence.
Arshavin: 7 - Got stuck in straight away. His work-rate has improved immensley.
Bendtner: 6 - Should have won it for us in the end.
Now on to today's game. This game has now become huge for us after being knocked out of two competitions in the space of something like thirteen days. A win today would reinstall some much needed confidence into the players. They know what they've got to do but the big question is, can they go out there today and take the game to United? We've only one out of the last ten meetings against them. That is simply not good enough. They're 4-3-3 formation has frustrated us in recent years. The trio of Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher have always done extremely well in marking the likes of Cesc and Nasri out of the game. Of course there will be no Cesc today so I expect Nasri to move back into midfield and possibly see Bendtner on the right of the front trio. Szezesny will be out for up to six weeks so Almunia will be number one until he returns and who knows, if he impresses he might keep his spot in the team. Fair is fair after all. The good news is that Van Persie came through the Barcelona game unscathed and should lead the line today. We'll need a big performance from everyone if we are to win this game. To be honest I'd take a draw and have them back at the Emirates in the replay.
Here's the team I expect to see:
Almunia
Sagna - Djourou - Koscielny - Clichy
Nasri - Diaby - Wilshere
Bendtner - Van Persie - Arshavin
The boss said he'll play his strongest available team so granting nobody picked up any knocks he's not telling us about, then that should be the eleven we'll see today. I don't think certain players should be rested, we've got a week off after this so let that be their break. That back four has been fantastic for us in the past couple of months so its vital Wenger dosen't make any changes in that department. United aren't exactly in goalscoring form and the absence of Nani, Park and Valencia won't help their cause. All the same, they are notorious for scoring poxy goals against us so we'll have to be on our toes for the 90 minutes. Let's make a statement today, we're long due a win at Old Trafford. Come on Arsenal!
Till next time Gooners.
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