UEFA Champions League/Europa League 8/9/10 March *** Spoilers ***

[Surfer]

Kosnielcy Read what I quoted, I was replying to both points.

Yeah but you know the ref wouldnt send him off...he has his own little plan in his head of who is getting sent off. doesnt need to send off Kosnielcy as VP was already sent off....

Basically with decisions that are not 100% clear then the ref uses their own judgement thats why you see a lot of fubared decisions.

 

[BaZ87]

You having a laugh?

Almunia made some brilliant saves against another team barca could have ended up getting 6 or 7 tonight

Like Dan says, they wouldn't have created as much and regardless of Almunia's performance, their finishing and final ball was pretty poor today.

On top of that, other sides would have managed to create the odd chance too which Arsenal didn't.

Arsenal were set up completely wrong today. They had no out ball. At 1-1 Arsenal had a couple of chances to break but had nobody other than Nasri who looked like he could run in behind Barca's defense.

I know they smashed Real earlier in the season but if they were to be as wasteful against them as they were against you tonight, a team like Real could have easily knocked them out.

 

[Weebull]

I went into the toilet after Barca scored their second. "**** it," I thought, "there's enough time while the show the twenty-five replays and cream themselves over it."

Some bloke was in the bogs when I walked in. Evidently he'd missed the goal. "Did Barca score?" He asked me.

"Yeah, Villa."

"Not Messi? Ah well, what can you do, they've been all over you."

"True, but it's only level overall. We're still in this."

I walk out. Penalty to Barcelona. For **** sake.

 

[Somnambulist]

If Tottenham beat AC Milan, do they play Barca??

No, the teams that get through to the quarters are drawn randomly and you know the route to the final from there. I'd expect the other 3 remaining Prem clubs to go through tomorrow and next week, but I doubt any of them will get to the final.

 

[Azza]

2 - Arsenal made two touches in the opposition goal area tonight; compared to a total of 47 by Barcelona.


edit---->


explicit4u, just posted that sorry. But still a pretty staggering stat!

 

[FeFiDoh]

You had a game plan after half time? So whats that? What do you think they would have done differently?

"Ok so we need to get the ball and make some passes"

Arsenal had the wrong game plan, playing unfit Cesc and a RvP (who barely even touched the ball).

It did not look the same Arsenal team with 11 men then it did at the Emirates with 11

 

[drunkenmaster]

So many loser arsenal haters, pathetic. That ref changed the game, we probably had a game plan after half time but that went to the drain when RvP get's sent of for someting as ridiculous as that.

Barca are a bunch of technically gifted players but classless and spineless cowards. They have no class and no character.

We didn't have a game plan, Arsenal had 0 shots in the game, before or after. What were we going to do if he wasn't sent off, continually hit long balls to RVP who won none of them, have Nasri run into the corner, fluke a corner, and fluke a terrible second own goal?

We started an injured player who could barely run, we started another player who would not run and is quite possibly retarded AND fouled in the box clear as day right infront of the ref and somehow the penalty wasn't given, Kos should have got a second yellow for the penalty.

We were rubbish at every single stage, the only real way to turn the game around was Bendtner for Diaby, 4-4-2, Arshavin for Fabregas and push Rosicky inside, and take Nasri off who stopped running 10 mins into the second half and who was consistantly rubbish.

Considering after the keeper injury we only had 2 subs, and Wenger took of Rosicky for no reason at all, there was no gameplan, we were screwed, Wenger made every wrong call possible, the red card changed nothing. Were it not for a lot of Alumnia saves, some very good, a lot just Barca shooting at the keeper, we would have been utterly thrased.

 

[Tummy]

Obviously it goes without saying that playing with 10 men is harder, especially given the opposition, but given the completely lacklustre performance and how easily Barca dominated Arsenal, I doubt with RVP on the pitch the outcome would have being different.

Over the course of two legs I think Arsenal can't complain about refereeing decisions as they benefitted more then Barca.

Barca were just dominant, against 10 or 11, hell Arsenal could have had 12 or 13 and I doubt it would have made much difference.

Barca are just on another level, if thats how easily they brush Arsenal (who ARE a good side and one of the better sides in England) aside it's scary, as they never got going.

 

[Weebull]

I'm making the point Arsenal did NOTHING with 11 men

You know what Tummy? Next time we have 90% possesion against someone like Stoke, 20 shots on target, all the chances, and still lose 1-0, and your lot wade in with "It's not what you do with the ball it's how many you score lolarsenalwalkingitintothenet", bear in mind that you said this.

We parked the bus. It nearly worked. Or is that not acceptable when you're Arsenal?

 

[Surfer]

How is it not? Game is stopped - player continues to play with the ball.
By all rules this is a yellow card - 1st, 2nd, 2345th - it does not matter. Is a yellow card.

1 second haha gtfo Its about establishing intent. VP shoots all of 1 second after ref whistle goes...i dunno about you but he isnt a jedi or a robot who suddenly stops whenever he hears a whistle.

 

[Tummy]

You'll never hear me say that about Arsenal in future Weeb.

Stoke are a bad example to pick, they play a different sport

As I've said, it's scary how easily Barca dominated Arsenal tonight as Arsenal are a very good side. Scary.

 

[Weebull]

I don't think I'm going to debate the actual tactics of this match, or what happened, because it's clear this thread is just full of "NO U" posts. So the last thin I will say, is that regardless of decisions that did or did not go our way, if you don't think that van Persie sending off was the most ridiculous second yellow you've ever seen, you're a ****ing moron.

EDIT: Regardless mate, people say it all the time. Apparently it's perfectly fine to play a bit physically and defend against us, but as soon as we do the same against a team that are utterly destroying everyone they meet, it's sour grapes? Nah, sorry, not buying it.

 

[Tummy]

It was an odd decision

You see those things all the time, I mean where half the players will stop and one or two will carry on, but you rarely see a card for them.

 

[FeFiDoh]

It was pretty soft yeah theres no real denying that but its swings and round abouts, he went and Kos stayed when he probably should have had that 2nd yellow for the pen?

So either way you should have ended up with 10

 

[DanH84]

Only one person has said it was a fair sending off. Doesn't stop the fact that Arsenal were crap and, particularly at 3-1 just seemed to stop trying. Barca could have sodded it upfor themselves though by being wasteful had Bendtner not been less rubbish. Then we'd have all been lobarcatryingotwalkitintothenetlolwut.

 

[Tummy]

I don't think I'm going to debate the actual tactics of this match, or what happened, because it's clear this thread is just full of "NO U" posts. So the last thin I will say, is that regardless of decisions that did or did not go our way, if you don't think that van Persie sending off was the most ridiculous second yellow you've ever seen, you're a ****ing moron.

EDIT: Regardless mate, people say it all the time. Apparently it's perfectly fine to play a bit physically and defend against us, but as soon as we do the same against a team that are utterly destroying everyone they meet, it's sour grapes? Nah, sorry, not buying it.

MAYBE. It's because people don't expect Arsenal to resort to those tactics?

I'm speaking for probably myself and the people I watched the game with, but I don't expect Arsenal to deploy that kind of game, I don't consider them a dirty team or a defensive team, so maybe it's a shock for people to see Arsenal play that way?

 

[drunkenmaster]

Obviously it goes without saying that playing with 10 men is harder, especially given the opposition, but given the completely lacklustre performance and how easily Barca dominated Arsenal, I doubt with RVP on the pitch the outcome would have being different.

Over the course of two legs I think Arsenal can't complain about refereeing decisions as they benefitted more then Barca.

Barca were just dominant, against 10 or 11, hell Arsenal could have had 12 or 13 and I doubt it would have made much difference.

Barca are just on another level, if thats how easily they brush Arsenal (who ARE a good side and one of the better sides in England) aside it's scary, as they never got going.

ACtually that I don't agree with firstly Arsenal basically started the game with, being generous, 9 players really playing, 11 players would have made a huge difference, however the red card had smeg all to do with that.

Time and time again, big game, play your best players with a formation that suits. That doesn't mean if you have 4 world class CB's you drop two strikers, but drop a very good striker for a epic fail of a midfielder, its laughable.

Again posession stats are almost the same as the first leg, at home we were battered in posession, they were all over us for much of the game, we scored two goals and dominated when we played 4-4-2 with two strikers and got at them ffs.

Barca aren't at another level, when you concede half the pitch, play an injured player and a guy who just doesn't know how to play football in the most important area of the pitch, of course Barca looked great.

Did Barca look at another level when we played 4-4-2 and played in their half in the first leg, not even close, did we look the better side for that 20minutes, easily. Its a game of two halves, literally, two halves of the pitch, if you only play in the half they want to play in, you've lost, play them in the half they don't want you to play them in, win win.

Bendtner won ball after ball when he came on in the first leg, he did the same last season, he did the same with the two he got when Wenger finally bought him on, he'd have done the same for 90minutes if he'd started.

 

[explicit4u]

You'll never hear me say that about Arsenal in future Weeb.

Stoke are a bad example to pick, they play a different sport

As I've said, it's scary how easily Barca dominated Arsenal tonight as Arsenal are a very good side. Scary.

It's because in all our other games, we attack when we're loosing, we attack when we're drawing and we attack when we're winning. We looked like we were trying to shut barca out (inter style) and everyone knows we are simply incapable of keeping them silent at home.

RvP staying on could have changed the game, also remember that Arshavin came on AFTER he was sent off. Arshavin would have provided much more support for RvP than Rosicky.

 

[dante6491]

Referees do get decisions wrong, they are human. What annoys me is that they cannot be publicly criticised, there is no accountability. If they had to justify their decisions on tv then would see if they were incompetent or just made a mistake.

 

[dannyjo22]

We parked the bus. It nearly worked. Or is that not acceptable when you're Arsenal?

It's never acceptable to Arsene when a smaller team does it to him.

I don't see what all the drama is about, there isn't a team in the premiership that will live with Barca at home and not get a complete drubbing.

None of the EPL top midfields will be able to contain or hold the ball well enough not to get over run. I personally don't see what over option he had other than try to park the bus.