UCL Match Preview; Arsenal v Barcelona; Not One for the Faint of Heart

It has been near two months since the premier tournament of European football last graced our presence. In that installment, Arsenal pulled out their miraculous escape act only to earn a round of 16 tie against familiar foe – Barcelona.

Have I mentioned I hate Barcelona? No, I really hate Barcelona. I’ve never bought in to the band wagon legion of people who fawn over their aesthetically pleasing football. There was a great piece in the Standard on Monday that I absolutely loved – and agreed with – that the Mes Que Un Club mantra the club espouses to is a fallacy and that in the end their nothing more than a group of arrogant pricks (my words not theirs.)

Now you might say it’s jealousy of all they have accomplished. With that you’d be wrong. I just dislike the arrogance that permeates at every level of the club. You know the club that was sanctioned for it’s dealing in the youth market, the same club that has multiple players being charged with tax evasion (I’m looking at you Messi and Neymar) and the same club that feigns ignorance when one of it’s players “taps up” another when that other plays is found to have a shred of Barcelona DNA.

Now, I am a realist and I know that Barcelona are a potent attacking side. The front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez is one of the most potent attacks we’ve seen in football. But being a realist doesn’t mean I can’t hope Arsenal find it within themselves to do one over on the visitors.

I’m of the firm mind that Arsenal showed they have it within themselves to play against the best in Europe with wins over Bayern and City this season. Yes, Barcelona is a different beast but I believe Bayern to be a more complete team than Barcelona.

Watching Barcelona recently it strikes me that they are saved a lot by their front three when the rest of team is good but not on the same wave length as the front three. If Arsenal can find it within themselves to cut off the supply to the front three – namely block off Busquets – then Arsenal will have a chance to come out of the tie with a win.

That would make me and I wager more than just Arsenal supporters quite happy.

Key Matchup

Whomever gets the job of denying time and space to Busquets for Arsenal will be the key focus. Since Enrique took over Barcelona, he has put a lot of faith in Busquets to pull the strings of this more direct version of tiki-taka Barcelona. In Barca’s 6-1 demolition of Roma in the group stages, he completed 66 of 71 passes more than any other player on the pitch. Disrupting his play and ensuring he doesn’t have an easy day of it would at least give us a fighting chance.

Where to Worry

Duh! With an attack as potent as Barcelona’s where don’t you worry – but the biggest worry has to be Mertesacker v Neymar at any point if it happens. For all of the criticism leveled at Mertesacker for his play, he tends to actually deliver when it matters. Still, Neymar possesses guile and skill the likes that can turn the Big Effing German around in a heartbeat. Mertesacker will have to be at his positional and reading best to make sure he is in the right position to handle the threat posed by Neymar.

But it’s not just Mertesacker’s role to defend against Neymar, Bellerin will also have his role to play in keeping the Brazillian quiet. Across the board the team will have to collectively play defense similar to their approach versus Bayern at home in the group stages. If it’s not a team effort then there will be space to exploit and Barcelona will definitely exploit it.

Match Verdict

Arsene Wenger said in his pre-match presser, that Barcelona are a near perfect team. But he also said they are beatable and they are.

So how can Arsenal turn this match into a win and possibly launch into the dreaming the impossible of beating them later at the Camp Nou?

First, we need to be patient. We can’t get all over-hyped and frustrated like we have in the past when we’ve played this team. Whether its ill-timed passes, poor decisions or bad shooting, we can’t fall apart. It will take a concerted effort for the whole 90 minutes. If we aren’t in it early it will be a long day – think Bayern away.

Secondly, Arsenal need to press high up the pitch. You cannot press the entire match against them but you can start the press early enough to disrupt their rhythm of play. Barcelona may be happy with their style of play when they have freedom to play the ball out of the back but they are less than happy to have pressure applied to their center backs and are prone to losing the ball when that occurs. I’d want to see Arsenal commit to this early to force the Barcelona back line into making errors. Specifically, I’d like to see what happens when the strength of Giroud is closing down on the diminutive Javier Mascherano. Win the ball deep in their end and get match ups more favorable to ourselves and we can create chances.

If Arsenal can press high early on and get on an early lead they can then play compact. When Ancelotti beat Barcelona this is what he did. He took the midfield away and then went on to beat Barcelona on the counter using his superior speed against them. Next to being pressed high up the pitch, Barcelona hate speedy counter teams.

What we cannot do is sit back from the offset. To me this would be suicide – it invites the skill of 6 really skilled players to pick you apart.

I do dislike Barcelona with a vengeance but these are the matches the Champion’s League were made of. I am just hoping that a little of that rumoured “Barcelona don’t travel well” is true and we can take this match from them.

Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez. We need the old Alexis to come back and decide he wants to show his former employers what he is made of.

Barcelona: Sergio Busquets. All the action flows through the midfielder. If he’s going – so goes Barcelona.

Probable Line Ups:

click to enlarge

Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Arteta (unspecified), Cazorla (knee), Gabriel (hamstring), Wilshere (calf/shin), Rosický (thigh)

Barcelona: Rafinha (knee), Arda Turan (suspended)

Match Stats

Match Officials:
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistants: Bahattin Duran (TUR) , Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional assistants: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR) , Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Çem Satman (TUR)

Broadcast Info:
UK: BT Sport Europe, 19:45 GMT
US: Fox Sports 1, Fox Soccer 2 Go, ESPN3 (Spanish), 2:45 PM EDT

YAMA Predicts:
Arsenal 2 – 2 Barcelona. It’ll be hard fought but it will end in a draw.

MANAGER’s QUOTES

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
No team is perfect, but Barcelona are not far from it. We need to take our chances. We will have less of the ball than against Hull, but we have to make the most of it.

They have top strikers. Maybe they look like they are having a little bit less possession at the moment because they used to have Xavi in midfield. They have a team that can score at any moment. Even when they are being dominated they are still very dangerous. They did that in the final last year against Juventus when it was 1-1. They were suffering but they took their chances when they arrived.

I knew Luis Enrique as a player. He scored against us at Wembley in the Champions League. He has done a remarkable job because he arrived with scepticism around him and won the treble in his first year.

I remember we played the Champions League final against Barcelona in 2006 and Messi was injured for that game. It’s remarkable that was ten years ago and what he has achieved in that time.

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
On paper this is one of the most attractive and appealing games if you like this kind of football. Arsenal are a good team, strong in the transition and with really good players up front. They will press high at times but I hope we can keep the ball in their half and impose our own game.

Being labelled favourites means nothing. We have to prove ourselves game after game and we are going to try to. If we get a good score tomorrow that would be fantastic, but we have a lot of confidence going into the second leg whatever happens.

I am delighted to have such a good front three, and also with the squad as a whole. They are all the chosen ones because they are fantastic. I’m absolutely delighted to be their manager. I just say ‘abracadabra’ and the magic sparks.