A moment to reflect on yesterday’s truly fantastic, memorable match in North London. Not only did it live up to its billing, but it turned out to be even more dramatic, more clinical than imagined. A rare treat for anyone that appreciates the game, but in particular it was an unforgettable match for every Arsenal and Barcelona soul on the planet, past and present.
From the outset it must be said that Arsene Wenger has to be thrilled with the result. Over the first fifteen or twenty minutes Barcelona played their most inspired passing football ever, creating not less than seven or eight clear scoring chances. Their finishing was off, however, and when it was not off Almunia performed miracles. Busquets, Messi x 3, Xavi alone from seven yards and Ibrahimovic a bunch of times could have, should have put Barca ahead and possibly killed the match. Without any real possession, Arsenal was under a relentless siege. Meanwhile, Barca made it look easy, displaying a technical level and constant movement that no other team is capable of.
Amazingly, near the half hour mark the match was still scoreless and Arsenal started to finally put together some possession. With Arshavin’s early exit, Nasri became the main play-maker and he came close to giving Arsenal an impossible advantage. Abou Diaby and Alex Song regained their grounding a bit, after chasing shadows. For the most part, Arsenal protected the result to halftime like a fighter trying to get to the end of the round after being battered and nearly knocked down several times, yet somehow is still standing.
It took 22 seconds for Barca to finally break through in the second half. Zlatan was put through by Xavi and the miracle man of the first half made a grave error of judgment by hesitantly coming out halfway. Ibra, who had provided great frustration to this point, got this one right with a perfect little lob over an Almunia caught in between lines. It happened so fast after the re-start that Wenger did not even witness the goal, as he was a tad late coming out of the dressing room.
Barca recaptured its form from early in the match and kept pressing. Finally Zlatan’s second goal gave them some measure of comfort and brought the scoreline somewhat closer to what was happening on the field. But then Barca seemed happy to cruise the rest of the way. Arsenal had a huge opportunity through a Bendtner point blank header, at the other end Xavi miss-timed a perfect Dani Alves cross. And then, the introduction of Theo Walcott galvanized the match.
Walcott’s first speedy incursion was cleared away, but on the second one he capitalized and suddenly Arsenal were provided a life-line. More importantly, around the 70th minute Barca seemed tired. Much less movement, less aggressive pursuit of the ball. Messi was dead and soon after half of the Barcelona seemed too tired to break out. Arsenal sensed an opportunity and seized it, pressing forward. The goal came as a result of exhausted defending. Puyol obstructed Fabregas, the referee was swayed by the crowd noise and awarded the penalty – that much is acceptable. But the red card was not merited, it was a very harsh decision with consequences beyond this match.
That is because Pique is also out in the second leg. Barca will field Diego Milito and Rafa Marquez at center defense, with Ya Ya Toure also in the mix. Arsenal’s heroic night of resistance also came at a heavy cost. Fabregas has a serious knee injury and in all probability is done for the season. Same with Gallas, who left the match in the first half with a pulled calf muscle. Arshavin will miss the second leg in Barcelona, but should return in a few weeks.
Barca needs oxygen. A tough match looms this week-end at home against Athletic Bilbao and no points can be dropped in order to maintain pace with Real Madrid in La Liga. Next, an easy second leg against Arsenal has become anything but. Then, on April 11, Real Madrid – Barcelona at the Bernabeu. The next ten days will define Barca’s season. The best team of all time is tired ahead of a critical stretch.