UEFA Champions League/Europa League 8/9/10 March *** Spoilers ***
- Thread starter Cosimo
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I'm guessing you're an Arsenal fan and are feeling slightly ****ed off but if the ref was bent as you say, why didn't he award Barca the penalty in the first half?
He made a harsh call on Van Persie's 2nd yellow card but that's about the only big decision that went against Arsenal. On another day Van Persie could have seen red in the first half.
They miss Campbell, Vieira and Henry. Not so much in terms of their ability but their character. This current Arsenal side hasn't got enough (or possibly any) players that they can look to in difficult times.
There was a lot of talk that Arsenal bid for Reina and possibly Mascherano too in the summer. Add a couple of players with their mentality (and ability of course) into Arsenal's squad and they'd be a far stronger side.
Can't believe Arsenal fans are talking about being hard done by, firstly RVP could have easily gone in the first half for what he got the yellow for, secondly Koscielny should have gone for a second yellow in the penalty incident, thirdly Messi should have had a pen/free kick right on the edge of the area in the first half and need we all forget about the disallowed Barca goal that should have stood in the first leg as well as Koscielny IIRC not being sent off when he was last man also in the first leg.
Over both legs Arsenal had a lot of luck, maybe RVP's second yellow was harsh but they were comfortably beat by a much better team. In fact the gulf between the two teams was quite frightening for the teams that are left in the competition.
On a positive note for Arsenal I can't believe Barca would still want Fabregas after the performances he put in over both legs, can't see him getting in their team until Xavi's done at the earliest. Wilshire on the other hand was immense in both games, shame he such a dispiseable character though.
Over both legs Arsenal had a lot of luck, maybe RVP's second yellow was harsh but they were comfortably beat by a much better team. In fact the gulf between the two teams was quite frightening for the teams that are left in the competition.
On a positive note for Arsenal I can't believe Barca would still want Fabregas after the performances he put in over both legs, can't see him getting in their team until Xavi's done at the earliest. Wilshire on the other hand was immense in both games, shame he such a dispiseable character though.
Lol, Liverpool can keep him.
Caporegime
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Despite none of his good performances coming in central midfield, despite his goals all coming inside the box(ok almost all) despite like tonight his passing being attrocious, being selfish, unable to hold up the ball, prone to daft fouls, not very strong and being like that all season?
Nasri isn't in the same league as Cesc, not even close, not even close to a central midfielder who can dominate a game.
Yea, he's no Almunia, Fabianski or Szczesny that's for sure
I wasn't offering him either
I'd have Szczesny over Reina any day. Reina's a good shot-stopper, nothing more. Better than Almunia granted, but nothing to write home about. Give Szczesny time to mature, he's got a lot of potential.
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I have to say the better team won tonight . I had my mate dave in the house watching the game tonight and he is an arsenal fan , even he said they deserved to go out . He came to the conclusion because in his own words they created nothing and barcelona even gifted them a goal . I 100% agree with him too arsenal where very poor tonight and if they had of went through it would have been a big upset especially as they where shocking tonight .
Arsenal put in a good shift in places: Nasri, Rocisky, and Wilshere were fantastic. The defence held out much longer than expected. Going into the game, most Arsenal fans will admit that we didn't expect to go through unless we were extraordinary or very lucky. Fabregas and Van Persie weren't really there due to their injuries and by consequence we got hemmed in and unable to play the ball. Barcelona - I wouldn't say dominated - but they certainly were the stronger side tonight, granting Arsenal's fatigued midfiled little leeway. Even with Van Persie on the pitch, with no chances being created organically rather than on the counter, our strike-force was effectively non-existant anyway. It's purely academic, but would Van Persie have put that chance away which Bendtner wasted? Fabregas wasn't himself and Sagna looked sloppy.
Barcelona got in Arsenal's faces tonight and tempers flaired. Focus was lost, and as has happened time and time again with Arsenal, mistakes - big ones - soon followed as a result. Going down to ten men against a team dominating possession in a game you're used to dominating yourself is always going to cause problems.
With all variables accounted for, I think Arsenal did put in a good shift. Not their best, granted, but it was far from awful. On another day the game would've be ours.
As for Fabregas, I still don't want to see him go. He had a bad game, so what. He's done wonders all season.
I'd have much rather have seen Nasri adopting a more central role tonight and having Rosicky playing left, but I do have my concerns about him containing Alves as well as Nasri is/was able to.
Barcelona got in Arsenal's faces tonight and tempers flaired. Focus was lost, and as has happened time and time again with Arsenal, mistakes - big ones - soon followed as a result. Going down to ten men against a team dominating possession in a game you're used to dominating yourself is always going to cause problems.
With all variables accounted for, I think Arsenal did put in a good shift. Not their best, granted, but it was far from awful. On another day the game would've be ours.
As for Fabregas, I still don't want to see him go. He had a bad game, so what. He's done wonders all season.
I'd have much rather have seen Nasri adopting a more central role tonight and having Rosicky playing left, but I do have my concerns about him containing Alves as well as Nasri is/was able to.
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Fair enough, but the crux of the matter is that the boy's got massive potential and should only get better in time whereas Reina has peaked. Szczesny has made a few blunders since being #1, but it's a sharp learning curve. He's done alright for us so far, I'm eager to see what else is to come. Still, I'd sooner have Reina over Cech.
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How much did you drink down the pub Nix, on another day the game would have been ours, Rosicky and Nasri were fantastic........... on another day the game would be ours.... I can't get past that one.
On another day we'd have lost that 8-1, and that one goal was hilarious and I believe contributed entirely by me, would Nasri have won a flukey corner and Diaby decide to jump in the line of sight of Busquets had I not continually said how rubbish they are, not likely
On another day we'd have lost that 8-1, and that one goal was hilarious and I believe contributed entirely by me, would Nasri have won a flukey corner and Diaby decide to jump in the line of sight of Busquets had I not continually said how rubbish they are, not likely
How much did you drink down the pub Nix, on another day the game would have been ours, Rosicky and Nasri were fantastic........... on another day the game would be ours.... I can't get past that one.
On another day we'd have lost that 8-1, and that one goal was hilarious and I believe contributed entirely by me, would Nasri have won a flukey corner and Diaby decide to jump in the line of sight of Busquets had I not continually said how rubbish they are, not likely
Did you see the workrate Nasri put in?
Rosicky - granted not as good as other players on the pitch, but relatively speaking - played very well.
Fabregas didn't turn up and Van Persie looked shakey. Two players that make up the spine of the team. On another day, yes. It would've given us the edge. Today, we didn't have that edge but still played well. Not fantastic, but well. Barcelona deserved to win on the night.
Didnt get a chance to watch the game...too busy shopping at Westfield earlier tonight but kept an eye on the score via the skysports centre iphone app and wasnt at all disappointed to see us being dumped out of the CL again by Barca...spoke to a mate of mine who filled me in quickly and said RVP got sent off for kicking the ball away...bit harsh really but tbh i think we were fortunate to get gifted a goal...from what i read of the comments on the skysports app...it didnt look like we were going to score a goal.
Shame really that yet again we are dumped out by Barca...no great shame in losing to them and i knew that us beating them was going to be a tall order...at least with the CL out of the way, we can concentrate on the EPL and FA Cup although i cant see us winning either tbqh...i have no confidence in our squad as we just arent consistent enough...too many 'meh/rubbish' players that are currently infecting our squad but nothing will change over the summer as Wenger is too damn pig headed to do anything about it...places far too much faith in the squad we have now.
Anyhow we only have ourselves to blame for this, as we should have won the group stages and avoided Barca but we didnt....not going to bother watching the highlights of the game tomorrow.
Shame really that yet again we are dumped out by Barca...no great shame in losing to them and i knew that us beating them was going to be a tall order...at least with the CL out of the way, we can concentrate on the EPL and FA Cup although i cant see us winning either tbqh...i have no confidence in our squad as we just arent consistent enough...too many 'meh/rubbish' players that are currently infecting our squad but nothing will change over the summer as Wenger is too damn pig headed to do anything about it...places far too much faith in the squad we have now.
Anyhow we only have ourselves to blame for this, as we should have won the group stages and avoided Barca but we didnt....not going to bother watching the highlights of the game tomorrow.
Caporegime
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Workrate coupled with effectiveness is useful, running about like a headless chicken does nothing for us. Rosicky did nothing, at all, but was far better than the likes of Diaby and Fabregas, who was only useless because he was obviously completely injured. Nasri did nothing after the goal, for 35mins or so he barely ran, just jogged everywhere, he was frequently very late getting back which left Clichy completely exposed on many many many occasions.
He frequently conceded posession trying to take the ball up the wing on his own, if he was looking for the pass, with RVP frequently open, as was Rosicky on the other wing, a simple pass means running less and holding onto the ball. Instead Nasri was in headless chicken/final 3 mins injury time mode. Get the ball aim at corner, run, get surrounded, lose ball, yes one time he fluked a corner and yes that resulted in a hilarious goal, the other 20 times it resulted in another Barca attack.
The ball went through Nasri more than any other Arsenal player in an attacking sense, and we didn't create a single shot on goal............ not in any way related at all right?
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Barca had 69% of possession
Arsenal didn't have a shot on or off target in 99 minutes Barca on the other hand had 19 (10 on target)
That's about as one sided a game at that level as you're ever likely to see
A domination would've been turning Arsenal over 4(+)-0 with next to no play within the final third. Given the circumstances, Arsenal were far from dominated. More on the back-foot; somewhere the should not be though.
Arsenal failed to create chances, hence the shot-ratio due to two important players playing in first-gear and not really turning up.
Arsenal were contained, not dominated.