The ‘Joga Bonito Derby’ lived up to its billing, as football fans worldwide were treated to a sumptuous game of beautiful football between two of the most graceful teams in the world. Barcelona played their usual slick passing game and secured a deserved lead through Villa’s intelligent strike, before Arsenal came back from a one-goal deficit in the second half to grab their first win against the Spanish giants, with van Persie netting a stunning goal from an acute angle and Arshavin applying the finishing touches to a magical night at the Emirates. Dissecting this pulsating encounter would make for a grand PhD thesis indeed.
Shock and Awe no more
The home side began the game on a very positive note as compared to their deer-in-the-headlights approach last season, with Theo in particular skinning the Barca defense alive in the first 15 minutes of the game. Arsenal matched Barca man to man in the midfield, as the quartet of van Persie, Fabregas, Walcott and Nasri, aided by the very impressive Wilshere, kept the Barca midfielders in their own half for most of the time. Despite being one goal down at the stroke of half time, the Gunners waited patiently and took their chances in the second half; Koscielny, Djorou and Clichy were successful in stifling Barca’s forwards in the second half, while Van Persie and Arshavin completed a stunning turn around in the later stages of the game with two well-taken goals.
Against Barcelona, there’s no room for error
For all their good midfield link-up in the midfield, Arsenal came up short in the final third of the pitch, with van Persie and Cesc being the main culprits. The home side had cranked up the pressure in the first 20 minutes of the game, creating a flurry of chances for van Persie and co to convert them into goals. However, Arsenal were characteristically profligate in front of Barca’s net; van Persie had a shot blocked and skied a potential shot-on-goal wide, while Cesc and Theo opted to pass the ball between themselves instead of testing Valdes, and their attempts were eventually cleared by the Barca defense. On the other hand, although Messi missed a one-on-one against Szczesny, the visitors managed to get in front through a well-finished Villa goal between Szczesny’s legs, with Arsenal’s off-side trap breached once again. The goal gave Barca more possession on the ball, and Arsenal were forced to chase shadows for most of the first half after the goal. However, the second half saw a different Arsenal side, who steadied their nerves and finally took the chances coming their way in the last 15 minutes of the game, aided by some exceptional shot stopping by Szczesny.
You don’t need to park the bus to stop Barcelona
In the build-up to the highly anticipated encounter, pundits all over the world were proposing that Barca could only be stopped by employing the ultra-defensive strategies which clubs such as Inter and Chelsea successfully executed in their CL encounters against the Catalans. However, Arsenal proved that if a team can match Barca man for man, capitalize on the few chances they muster, and have a resolute defense clicking, then Barca can be brought down from their pedestal and beaten at their own game. Whether Barca were fatigued or not, they had considerable chances to increase their lead after Villa’s goal. They were prevented from doing so thanks to a couple of dubious refereeing decisions and some resolute goalkeeping by Szczesny, and eventually folded in the face of Arsenal’s sustained pressure in the second half.
Defining moment of the game
Although Arsenal were playing with renewed vigor in the second half, Barca were not exactly panicking and were still making dangerous forays into Arsenal’s box, with Villa and Pedro easing past Eboue and Clichy respectively on multiple occasions. Therefore, it came as a shock to many when Pep decided to substitute Villa with Seydou Keita, ostensibly to enable Barcelona to maintain their one-goal lead; a minute later, Wenger put on Arshavin in place of Song, who was already treading a thin line with his clumsy tackles and was in danger of being sent off. Both the substitutions titled the scales in Arsenal’s favour, and the Russian’s sublime bottom corner finish summed up an emphatic Arsenal victory.
Barca’s barren run in away games continues
Barcelona arrived in London with a poor away record in the Champion League games on their resume, having drawn five and losing one in their last six games on the road. They continued this trend at the Emirates, as the midfield were unable to play their usual high tempo passing game under Arsenal’s exerted pressure in the center of the field, and were undone in the final fifteen minutes of the game. Messi also continued his poor record in England, having failed to score any goals in the country; he missed a couple of gifted chances, and was unlucky to be ruled offside for a very legit goal. Barca’s possession game exposed their flanks, allowing Walcott and Nasri to beat the back three with pace and try to squeeze in passes to Van persie in the Barca ‘D’. Arsenal’s high line also allowed Villa, Pedro and Alves to move the ball to Arsenal’s penalty area on multiple occasions, but Koscielny played the game of his time, denying a Pedro one-on-one opportunity and keeping Messi and Villa in constant check with his tracking and last ditch tackles. Xavi and Iniesta were rendered anonymous by Song and Wilshere, and only Abidal’s efforts prevented the Catalans from conceding more as Arsenal’s midfield exploited the gaps left behind by the advancing fullbacks .
Jack Wilshere – England’s newest hero
The 19-year old showed exactly why he deserves to start for Arsenal and England, as he delivered a calm and composed performance on the ball, performing his offensive and defensive duties with aplomb. He was by far the best Arsenal player on the field, showing nerves of steel while his older team-mates were nervous in the latter part of the first half. He bamboozled the Barca defense with his lovely mazy runs and linked up very well with the front trio, while coordinating with Song to deny Xavi and Iniesta time and space on the ball. Incredibly, he completed all 24 of his passes in the first half, which is impressive considering the caliber of the Barcelona midfield he was pitted against. If there was one Englishman who could fit into Barca’s system, it would be the kid from Stevenage who will make the cut. No one would have expected the likes of Fabregas, Xavi and Iniesta to be overshadowed by Jack, and he deserved the Man of the Match honour along with the ever-improving Koscielny.
Barcelona still hold the upper hand
Arsenal might have won the game and in the process given themselves a major dose of confidence, but they would still have been better off keeping a clean sheet. Their high-line was penetrated by Messi at first, and the Argentinian wizard managed to beat Szczesny but saw his chip go wide off the mark; the reprieve should have warned the Gunners about their risky defense, but they failed to learn from it and consequently allowed Villa to pierce the offside trap and finish smoothly between the onrushing Szczesny’s legs. Barca seemingly took their foot off the pedal after the opening goal, allowing the home side to claw back into the game and secure a famous comeback win; however, the second leg will be an altogether different matter, and their away goal cushion gives Barca a better chance to progress to the quarter finals. Gunner fans will be hoping for a repeat of the Bayern-United matches last season, where the former won 2-1 at home, and then scored two away goals despite failing to progress to the final.
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