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Barcelona celebrate their win against ArsenalBarcelona ran out as 3-1 winners in the Champions League round-of-16 return leg fixture, finally winning 5-1 on aggregate. The high energy encounter saw Barcelona take the lead as early as the 18th minute when Luis Suarez set up Neymar for the opener extending Barcelona’s lead to 3-0 over two legs.Arsenal kept up the pressure with occasional plays that worried the Barcelona defence but it wasn’t until the second half that they had something to show for their promise. Mohamed Elneny produced a magnificent 20-yard effort to level the scores at the Camp Nou. Arsenal would go on to put Barcelona under concerted pressure but goals from Luis Suarez and eventually Lionel Messi would wrap up the tie 5-1 in Barcelona’s favor over two legs.Let’s have a look at some of the talking points:
#1 Arsenal\'s team selection
With the tie heavily tipped in Barcelona’s favour after the fixture at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger needed his best team out on the pitch on the night and yet the Frenchman pulled a few surprises with the team sheet on the night.
He put out a team in which he handed Nigerian striker Alex Iwobi a start and preferred Danny Welbeck to Olivier Giroud up top. He also started Mathieu Flamini over Francis Coquelin which in spite of not being a major surprise raised a few eyebrows.
The line up seemed to be justifying itself on the night with Alex Iwobi putting out a high energy performance and Flamini starting the game with enough attacking intent but Danny Welbeck’s performance up top left a little to be desired.
He seemed a little off match fitness and starkly off sharpness when the ball was played into the final third. He did hit the bar at one point but had precious little to show for his efforts otherwise. Another factor worth discussing is the number of crosses and cutbacks Arsenal were pumping into the box.
If that indeed was the game plan, it would’ve served better to have an actual target man in the box. Olivier Giroud did eventually come on and had a little impact as well. Gabriel started the game with Koscielny but did reasonably well in an Arsenal backline that was being pushed deep all evening.
Even though Barcelona were too good for Arsenal, in the end, you do think if the game would’ve panned out differently if Giroud had started over Welbeck.
#2 The unstoppable Barcelona trio
Arsenal were left with too much to do from the game at the Emirates, thanks to a sublime Lionel Messi performance but on the night it was the entire Barca frontline that ran away with the plaudits for the game.
‘MSN’ tormented the Arsenal back line all evening and had more chances than the scoreline would suggest to put the game even further beyond Arsenal in the first half itself. It wasn’t long before the trio put the tie beyond Arsenal as Suarez set up Neymar in space for the Brazilian to drill the ball into the net with a low shot.
Suarez was to score the crucial second goal in the second half and Messi rounded the evening off with a good finish.
In spite of all the link up play and neat touches, the moment of the night came from Neymar’s lob from the half way line which accurately found Lionel Messi running in behind the Arsenal defense. Messi then produced a celestial first touch to control the ball before shooting with his left foot less than a second later.
It was a magical save from David Ospina to deny Lionel Messi what would’ve been the goal of the tie at the very least. Luis Suarez showed his skill as well with the second goal being a very acrobatic finish from a Dani Alves set up.’MSN’ are in astounding form this season and it seems that only the Gods can stop the Barca frontline at the moment.
#3 Arsenal missed a world-class striker
It has been one criticism of Wenger for long now, that he refuses to delve into the funds available to him and spend it on a world-class striker. This was one of those nights, which would have been starkly different had Arsenal taken all their chances.
Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck did not impact the game as one would have hoped considering the mountain of a task that faced Arsenal. It could be argued that Arsenal approached the game with the right tempo and energy from all parts of the pitch with the quality missing up top. In a European game of this magnitude, Arsenal always needed someone special to bring the game to life again and in spite of everyone’s best efforts, the men up top were simply not good enough.
The game could’ve still panned out differently even with Barca making their lead unassailable early in the game. At 1-1 with 50 odd minutes gone, you could see Arsenal putting Barcelona under enough pressure to make something out of it, but as Arsene rued at the press conference after the match, they simply should’ve taken their chances. What a difference it would have made if Luis Suarez was wearing the Arsenal shirt on the night.
#4 Barcelona looking good for the Champions League crown
Barcelona have been on a celestial run of form this season. Unbeaten in 38 odd games this season, they’ve sent most teams looking to beat them for a toss home and away. With Messi, Suarez and Neymar firing on all cylinders and powering the Catalan side through tricky games like it were no sweat, you wouldn’t bet against them this season either.
It seems like Barcelona will waltz their way into the San Siro in defence of their Champions League title being favorites to successfully defend it at that.
The teams that remain in the Champions League at the moment are almost complete underdogs in a tie vs Barcelona at the moment with only Bayern Munich coming close to looking like they would go anywhere near beating Barcelona in the coming weeks.
Back to back Champions League trophies will go a long way in setting this very talented Barcelona side up as the best team in modern time, a title to which they already possess legitimate contention. Whatever be the contention on that, the one that is clear is Barcelona look really good to life back to back UEFA Champions League trophies at the San Siro a little later this year.
#5 Arsenal\'s season capitulating
A familiar sight now faces Arsenal fans. Having played most of the season rather well, the Gunners are now on the verge of seeing all their efforts count for nothing. Dumped out of all the cups after the loss on the night, it seems likely that Arsenal will miss out on the Premier League title as well after having been seen as favorites for most of the season.
A run of poor results has seen Arsenal bottle their season completely in a matter of weeks with the Gunners being dumped out of the FA Cup and Champions League in less than a few weeks in quick succession.
The calls for Arsene to call it quits are growing louder as they often do with Arsenal fans during such situations and it seems like it would require somewhat of a miracle for the Gunners in the last few games to see them make something out of a season that began so very well.
Arsene Wenger himself has been left defending his record as manager once again and it seems that patience may finally run out with him if Arsenal make nothing of this season particularly when they looked poised to do so much.
