Arsenal 2 Bar
Before tonight’s game I had predicted a 2-2 draw. I had expected an open and even game where we might be made to suffer by Arsenal’s football. However, we were so superior in the first 65 minutes of the game, not even Arsene Wenger could have complained if we had won the game by three clear goals. But, football matches last for 90 minutes and we were made to pay for believing that the tie was all over, and goals from Walcott and Cesc Fabregas from the penalty spot gave the Gunners a draw and a glimmer of hope for the second leg next Tuesday at Camp Nou.
For the first twenty minutes we dominated so clearly, it was difficult to believe we were playing a team of such stature as Arsenal. We tore them apart again and again but somehow we could not put the ball in the net. Busquets forced the first good save from Almunia after just two minutes, and not long after messi went through the middle but again the Arsenal keeper saved. The chances came so often it was not possible to keep up with my notes as we had 11 shots in the first twenty minutes while Victor Valdés was a mere spectator. The best of the early chances fell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 6th and 14th minute, the first he hit over from six yards out and the second was saved by Almunia. There was also a triple chance in the fifteenth minute where Xavi, Alves and then Messi all had shots but couldn’t find the gap through the Arsenal defence.
It seemed incredible that the score remained goalless after so many chances. After 20 minutes Arsenal had a brief five minutes spell when they got into our half, and Nasri came close with a shot from the left but it went wide of the far post. However, Barça were soon back in control, with an intensity in robbing the ball and speed in moving the ball that left Arsenal chasing shadows, though the chances were not so frequent now. There was a possible penalty from Clichy on Messi, there was definitely contact from Clichy’s knee across Messi’s thigh but it was not the sort of foul that is given very often. Ibrahimovic had a shot wide from the edge of the box and Messi had a free kick saved, and Arsenal were pinned back until another brief spell before half time, when Valdés had to save from Bendtner but the Arsenal striker was offside, and apart from that we only had a couple of crosses to deal with which Puyol did well to cut out.
Having given such an exhibition in the first half without scoring there was always the nagging worry that we might pay for not finding the net. However, right at the start of the second half Piqué played a long ball forward for Ibrahimovic to run onto, as Almunia came out Ibra played a delightful lob over him and into the net from the right side of the area to give us the goal we deserved. With the goal we began to slow the game a bit but our passing continued to be excellent as Xavi and Busquets bossed the midfield. Pedro had a shot wide in the 52nd minute, but then Arsenal gave us the first warning of what they are capable and Valdés did brilliantly to keep out Bendtner’s header. However, we didn’t let up and Xavi should have done better with a header from Alves’s cross, then in the 59th minute, Xavi sent a superb chip over the top for Ibrahimovic who beat the offside trap to run on and smack the ball high past Almunia into the roof of the net.
Perhaps our problem here was we believed the tie was all but over, we continued to have more possession but having played so well it seemed that we could try anything and it would come off well. In the 69th minute Busquets was guilty of making a pass without looking and the ball was intercepted by Nasri who played the ball on to Bendtner who found the speedy Walcott, who had just come on, Maxwell couldn’t stay with him and Walcott’s shot beat Valdés despite our keeper getting a hand to the ball.
The goal revived Arsenal and we had a few minutes on the back foot. However, Messi had the next good chance in the 76th minute after Xavi sent him through but Almunia made yet another save from Messi’s shot from the left. A 1-2 win still seemed an excellent result but then in the 84th minute a cross from the right found Bendtner who headed down towards Fabregas and as the ex-blaugrana shaped to shoot Puyol made slight contact and Fabregas fell to the ground. it didn’t look at all clear but the referee pointed to the spot and showed Puyol a harsh red card. Fabregas blasted the penalty home to give the home side an equalizer that was like a cold shower for Barça.
We woke up for the last few minutes to prevent any further grief and the ten men held on for the draw. It may seem like a defeat but we would all have settled for a 2-2 draw at the beginning. It is better to stick with the positive points from the game as we really were quite brilliant for most of the game. Piqué and Puyol were immense at the back continually cutting off the service to the Arsenal forwards, while Xavi and Busquets were both fantastic in midfield, except for the irritating mistake from Sergio in the first Arsenal goal. Up front Messi caused many problems though his finishing was not as clinical as on other days while Ibrahimovic made up for his two early misses with two extremely well taken goals.
The negative is obvious as it was so frustrating not to win this game after playing so well. It was like winning €10,000 on a horse and losing €9,000 on the following race. There is a big lesson to be taken from a game like this: even when we are playing so well we need to remember that a team of Arsenal’s level can be extremely dangerous if we drop the level. Hopefully nobody thinks the return game will be easy because now it is clear that if we let up at all, Arsenal are capable of making us pay.
Arsenal: Almunia; Sagna (Walcott m66), Gallas (Denilson m43), Vermaelen, Clichy; Song, Fabregas, Diaby; Nasri, Bendtner, Arshavin (Eboue m27).
Barça: Valdés 7.5; Alves 7.5, Piqué 9, Puyol 9, Maxwell 7; Xavi 9, Busquets 7.5, Keita 7; Messi 8 (Milito 87, –), Ibrahimovic 8.5 (Henry m76, 6), Pedro 7.
Goals: m46 Ibrahimovic 0-1, m59 Ibrahimovic 0-2, m69 Walcott, m85 Fabregas (pen) 2-2
Yellow cards: m20 Arshavin, m40 Song, m43 Fabregas, m71 Piqué, m74 Eboue, m78 Diaby
Red card: m84 Puyol
Fabregas, Piqué and Puyol will all miss the second leg.