Manager Pep Guardiola has made his thoughts clear ahead of the Barcelona vs Arsenal match in the UEFA Champions League. The Barca coach is expecting a combination of thrill and intricacy.
The Catalans went 2-1 down at the Emirates Stadium back in mid-February, in their challenge’s first leg. A simple 1-0 victory will therefore be enough for them to progress into the quarterfinals; yet, the Spanish League leaders are looking forward to getting an overwhelming result.
Succeeding and overpowering Arsenal at the Camp Nou will obviously call for a flow of perfection on behalf of Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola strongly believes that such a pricey achievement is nothing but a huge possibility. Both giants are currently facing fitness problems in their respective squads, with Alex Song and Theo Walcott certainly unavailable for the Gunners.
Barcelona will also be without their injured skipper Carles Puyol, and suspended defender Gerard Pique at the back. Such a hole in the Catalan defence could open up a host of opportunities for the visitors in Tuesday’s clash; nevertheless, although Barca are presently struggling to cope with unfortunate withdrawals in their team, Guardiola is still willing to make a comeback and eliminate a heavily-loaded Arsenal side.
"I would like all the best players to be out there and for everyone to see an exciting match,” the Spanish boss said. "We are going to be without Gerard (Pique) and Carles (Puyol), but in case we do not win, it will not be because of their absence.
"It is going to be a tough game and there won't be much room on the field. Arsenal are strong on the counter-attack, breaking with players like Cesc (Fabregas), so we need to be wary of that. But it should be a magnificent challenge.”
Taking into account both teams’ capability to surprise, nothing is really predictable concerning the match’s final result. The last encounter between Barcelona and Arsenal at the Camp Nou ended 4-1 in favour of the hosts.
Succeeding and overpowering Arsenal at the Camp Nou will obviously call for a flow of perfection on behalf of Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola strongly believes that such a pricey achievement is nothing but a huge possibility. Both giants are currently facing fitness problems in their respective squads, with Alex Song and Theo Walcott certainly unavailable for the Gunners.
Barcelona will also be without their injured skipper Carles Puyol, and suspended defender Gerard Pique at the back. Such a hole in the Catalan defence could open up a host of opportunities for the visitors in Tuesday’s clash; nevertheless, although Barca are presently struggling to cope with unfortunate withdrawals in their team, Guardiola is still willing to make a comeback and eliminate a heavily-loaded Arsenal side.
"I would like all the best players to be out there and for everyone to see an exciting match,” the Spanish boss said. "We are going to be without Gerard (Pique) and Carles (Puyol), but in case we do not win, it will not be because of their absence.
"It is going to be a tough game and there won't be much room on the field. Arsenal are strong on the counter-attack, breaking with players like Cesc (Fabregas), so we need to be wary of that. But it should be a magnificent challenge.”
Taking into account both teams’ capability to surprise, nothing is really predictable concerning the match’s final result. The last encounter between Barcelona and Arsenal at the Camp Nou ended 4-1 in favour of the hosts.
