Arsenal did it! The Gunners have beaten Barcelona 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League Last 16 tie. A special goal from Van Persie and a winner from super-sub Arshavin cancelled Villa’s opener.
It wasn’t the best of performances from Arsenal, but luck and resilience played the trick. Samir Nasri started for the Gunners and played as a winger whereas Wenger opted to put Van Persie upfront as a lone striker.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Szczesny was making his debut in the Champions League and it almost turned out to be a nightmare when David Villa found a way past the 20-year-old to put Barcelona in front. Hurt by this opener, Arsenal started commiting multiple errors in defence and they were fortunate to have Lionel Messi’s 38th minute strike ruled out for offside.
In fact, replays revealed that the Argentine’s goal should have stood. At half-time, nothing good had happened for the Arsenal; they lacked creativity and good finish on the counter-attack
Barcelona kept dominating in all areas. At the hour mark, the Catalans had remarkably completed 412 passes compared to the Gunners’ 203. But figures like this proved to be of no meaning in the end as Robin Van Persie found a way past Valdes for a 78th minute equalizer. This quickly followed with Arshavin’s curling shot 5 minutes later which sealed Arsenal’s victory over Barcelona.
The hosts were left with the task of defending at the other end of the pitch and they didn’t fail in their mission to do so. In the very last moments of the match, Barca pressed on hard to make it 2-2, but the clock denied them from reaching their target. So Arsenal did what giants Real Madrid and many other teams couldn’t do this season: to triumph over the Catalans.
However, the tie is not over and everyone knows the strength of Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The 2009 UEFA Champions League winners are certainly not dead yet; the next 90 minutes at the Camp Nou will reveal if Arsenal’s 2-1 victory tonight was that big... big enough to swallow Barca in Spain.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Szczesny was making his debut in the Champions League and it almost turned out to be a nightmare when David Villa found a way past the 20-year-old to put Barcelona in front. Hurt by this opener, Arsenal started commiting multiple errors in defence and they were fortunate to have Lionel Messi’s 38th minute strike ruled out for offside.
In fact, replays revealed that the Argentine’s goal should have stood. At half-time, nothing good had happened for the Arsenal; they lacked creativity and good finish on the counter-attack
Barcelona kept dominating in all areas. At the hour mark, the Catalans had remarkably completed 412 passes compared to the Gunners’ 203. But figures like this proved to be of no meaning in the end as Robin Van Persie found a way past Valdes for a 78th minute equalizer. This quickly followed with Arshavin’s curling shot 5 minutes later which sealed Arsenal’s victory over Barcelona.
The hosts were left with the task of defending at the other end of the pitch and they didn’t fail in their mission to do so. In the very last moments of the match, Barca pressed on hard to make it 2-2, but the clock denied them from reaching their target. So Arsenal did what giants Real Madrid and many other teams couldn’t do this season: to triumph over the Catalans.
However, the tie is not over and everyone knows the strength of Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The 2009 UEFA Champions League winners are certainly not dead yet; the next 90 minutes at the Camp Nou will reveal if Arsenal’s 2-1 victory tonight was that big... big enough to swallow Barca in Spain.
