**Champions League quarter & Semi finals Draw**

God I hope we don't get Liverpool in the final.. so glad to see we miss them till the final at least though. Still buzzing.
 
syke said:
God I hope we don't get Liverpool in the final.. so glad to see we miss them till the final at least though. Still buzzing.
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That's still a big IF Liverpool do get to the final, although, I think I'll try go to the Benfica game if possible, Lisbon's a lovely city, should be a good old fashioned european tie with a good atmosphere.
 
Cannaton said:
That's still a big IF Liverpool do get to the final, although, I think I'll try go to the Benfica game if possible, Lisbon's a lovely city, should be a good old fashioned european tie with a good atmosphere.
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Yeah, their next game is very tough, either of the two! Hangeland's gonna have his work cut out with that Dzeko though, both the same height I think?
 
What I will be really interested to see is that Arsenal control possession in every match they play but will come up against a team who do it just as well if not better. What will we do when we haven't got the ball for long periods?
 
Part of the reason Arsenal have improved as a unit this year is better off the ball closing down so I imagine Wenger will be perfecting that.
 
drunkenmaster said:
Yes, because any team can have an off day.

Barca and Inter both only scored 7 goals in the group stages, and Barca conceded 3, drew 2 and lost 1, they aren't in any way unbeatable. LIkewise Messi can have a bad game and we have some great players. Barca aren't fantastic away from home, they've been outplayed by teams worse than Arsenal away from home. Stuttgart aren't close to as good as Barca across two legs, but they might have gone through with a fair ref, you don't have to win both games, if we can get decent performance at home you never really know.

Barca are very vunerable defensively, as said Stuttgart pushed their midfields hard, won the ball and caught them quite easily on the break, they should have had penalties because their defence does some, well, questionable things.

Barca aren't a patch frankly, on the team that was around last year. The game against Stuttgart at home was a bit, dodgey, Alves threw himself to the ground constantly as did a couple of others, without Eto'o who they were used to for 5-6 years, they aren't quite as fluid together. If we man mark Messi with someone with pace and strength you're halfway there. The interplay and movement isn't as good as last year. As said they weren't really under pressure last year, this year everyone expects a treble and their form has been declining as the pressure is increasing, a Real win at the right time could put a insane amount of pressure on them and prevent them playing their best.

I don't think Arsenal are in any way the favourites, just not a complete write off.

THough the biggest problem is Wenger's stupid idea's for these games. I can see him deciding Denilson will be a better defensive option than other options, and deciding to start with Theo thinking if we play ultra defensive his pace might help us nick a goal.

The teams that have beaten Barca had one thing in common, no fear of at least trying to win. Teams that sit back and hope Barca don't score have been obliterated, Stuttgart, Rubin Kazan, Inter and several others who just took the game too them really all outplayed Barca in general. You do not want the ball in your half of the pitch, and if you only put 1 player in their half, it WILL be in your half the whole time. If you put 4 players in their half and support, you push them back.

Half the reason Messi is so good is theres ALWAYS 3-4 other players making runs into the box, yes he often beats 2-3 players, but without support running and other players, he'd have to beat 6-7players. Peg them back, deny them support and most importantly, they aren't used to playing against teams who go all out at them. They aren't used to playing crowded together in their own half.

They also push their fullbacks WAY up the pitch while the CB's cover the entire back line, smart running and balls beyond the midfield can leave 1 on 1's constantly. They are very beatable, teams that don't try, don't get close though.

DAng, Barca vs Real is 11th April, its their game the weekend after the 2nd leg, however it will be a big pressure match, even more so if they drop some more points before then. Its a crunch game for them with Real most likely not playing midweek and with nothing else to play for this year. First game at home which we definately have a shot at winning, and the 2nd leg will be hard for them as the weekend game is most likely bigger for them, not winning the CL means less to the players, fans, club than losing the league to Real.

They are away to Mallorca the weekend before the 1st game and home to Bilboa inbetween the two games. Its a tough run of games against top 8 teams that are capable of taking points off Barca.

No one wants to play Barca, but if you have to play them to win the CL, the toughtest couple weeks of the year for them leading up to their biggest game of the year is the best time to play them in the competition that means the least to them to be honest. Better now than in the final.
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you seem to asume that arsenal will play at their best both legs. Also think that barca's defence is better than people think especialy Pique who has imo become one europes best cb.
 
Barca's defence is good, as is Arsenal's, but the system that both teams employ means that they're extremely vulnerable to counter attacks, as Arsenal are too. Nothing to do with bad defending, just lack of cover due to pushing loads of men forwards all the time
 
Both teams love possession football, nice one touch passing. If either team let the other maintain a high level of possession it's game over. I'm not so certain we are going to see the end to end spectacle many people are expecting.
 
I agree that its won't be the end to end game we want but the quality on the pitch should still lead to a cracker of a game.
 
LOL at all the United always get easy draws & I hope Bayern knock out United posts in this thread :rolleyes:
 
I think it's an excellent draw for United and Inter and I expect both to progress with ease but not so good for Arsenal. Really can't choose between Lyon or Bordeaux but I expect it to be the tie of the round.
 
strange, as a UTD fan and someone from England, i root on all the English teams, i want the premiership and English teams to be considered as some of the best in the world. I was cheering for Liverpool last night! i hope Arsenal do well and make it past Barca... good luck gooners & UTD
 
should we get through i don't know which of those two i'd prefer to play. Bordeaux have the better manager in my opinion so i'd say lyon.
 
Baz!

You think there was anything to the Riera outburst?

Is the camp unhappy or do you think he's just unhappy?
 
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