It'd be ludicrous to claim Barca didn't deserve to progress to the CL quarter finals. Even after the first leg there was a sense of history being written by the victors, as the Catalans could have been three up by half time in London. That said, those claiming van Persie's dismissal last night made little difference aren't really talking much sense. Had Arsenal received a red card after an hour in the first leg Barca would probably have gone on to win easily, and commentators would have been saying the same. But Arsenal didn't, and managed to turn the game round. Would they have done so again with 11 players on the field yesterday? Probably not. But the chance towards the end of the game showed that at 3-1 Barca were still at risk. And even Bentner's own mother would admit the odds of taking such a chance would have been much higher had van Persie been on the pitch rather than her son.
The game highlighted not only that the belief Arsenal and Barca play the same style of play has been exaggerated, but also the change in Arsenal's style over the past few years. Barca pin opponents in their own half, denying time and space by hunting in packs. This enables them to dominate play, but can leave them open to a quick counter attack, as Arshavin's goal in the first leg showed. The Arsenal of Pires, Henry and Vieira, with their quick transfer from defence to attack through one-twos, might have opened Barca up. But the Arsenal players of today like Rosicky, Diaby and Nasri love having the ball at the feet. This form of possession football brings its own advantages, but ultimately played right into the hands of Messi and co.
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Key Clashes
How the players rated
2 comments:
Perhaps missing from the discussion of styles between the clubs is that the when Fabergas is playing well Arsenal's passing game works, again demonstrated by the Arshavin goal in the first leg. When Fabergas decides he'd rather not run and can't be bothered to use his brain then you see Nasri and Diaby dribbling up blind alleys. Frankly this Arsenal team is a joke, there are maybe three players who would have made the bench during their last successful run. Fabergas has moved on mentally, their only world class striker can't stay on the field, their central defenders are crap. Of the teams in the top 6 in England they have the least depth and the worst defense and are weakest mentally. Can't see them winning anything this year.
Bendtner's mother, yes. But what about his father...?
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