When Arsenal triumphed over Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium, the Catalans and their fans promised to take revenge on the Gunners at the Camp Nou – the one and only temple which transforms into a maze to visiting teams. On Tuesday night, Arsenal went short of gun powder as a clever Barcelona side showed them no mercy by appearing as a serial killer.
In truth, did Barcelona make of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Jack Wilshere their secret targets at the detriment of Arsenal’s entire squad after what happened in London? Possibly.
What is clear is that Pep Guardiola accomplished yet another mission in great fashion by displaying their identity to the maximum; in one word, they “outplayed” Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.
In fact, they took revenge on their opponents for suffering a 2-1 defeat at the Emirates in the first leg of their Last 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League. Little by little, Barca got rid of the men that had embarrassed them previously...
Arsenal’s Loss To Barcelona And The Fabregas Factor
“You cannot have a divided mind as a leader,” one may say. Was there a weirder way for Arsenal to lose momentum at the Camp Nou than through their captain, Cesc Fabregas, who coincidentally happens to be in love with Barcelona?
“If he [Cesc Fabregas] failed to play it would make our job far easier,” Messi told the Daily Mirror ahead of the second leg. Ironic. Fabregas actually served Barca’s first goal on a platter, and as it came at such a late time in the second period, it didn’t only down the Gunners’ spirit but also dramatically boosted the hosts mentally.
Robin van Persie Finally Gets Killed After "Just Wounding" Barca
Then came the red card incident for Arsenal. In a way or another, Barcelona managed to get rid of the man that had wounded them at the Emirates. The Dutch striker, who made a surprise return to action after sustaining an injury late in February, was probably not tipped as the favourite among all players on the pitch to get sent off.
But the noisy atmosphere at the Camp Nou created by the home crowd certainly played the trick for Barcelona. Arsenal were left destabilized and this turned out to be the changing point in the match. Was Robin van Persie's red card controversial? Certainly. But many supporters of Barcelona may prefer to overlook this issue and just think, "try scoring against us next time too, because you won't get it easy".
Serial killers tend to remind their victims that you cannot go away in peace after embarrassing them. Here is the rule: get completely rid of them, before they get rid of you. That's something which Van Persie and Arsenal apparently failed to apply.
Lionel Messi: Steal Me One Goal, I’ll Give You Two
Based on video evidence, it actually looks as if Messi’s goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium shouldn’t have been ruled out for offside. Such a crucial decision from the referee eventually changed the course of the game as the Gunners carried the day in the end with Wojciech Szczesny making a memorable debut in the Champions League.
But darkness soon covered Arsenal as Messi stealed the show again at the Camp Nou. He might have had a goal wrongly or correctly disallowed in the first leg of Barca’s Champions League tie. But what difference does that make now? And coincidentally, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny suffered an unfortunate finger injury which could ruin the rest of his season with Arsenal.
Jack Wilshere Who? I’m Still Xavi, The Maestro
When Arsenal supporters boasted about Jack Wilshere’s incredible performance against Barcelona at the Emirates, fans of the Catalans were quick to hail the Gunner and question Xavi’s influence in that first leg match.
In the build up to the second leg of their Champions League Last 16 tie, Pep Guardiola stated that if Wilshere is a good player, he is just like many other talented youngsters at Barcelona – nothing more than just that. Endorsing Guardiola’s claims, Xavi (who usually doesn’t score many goals), apparently did the necessary thing to remind Wilshere of the distance that exists between an emerging star and a maestro.
