Barcelona Vs Arsenal | Champions League QF L2 06/04/10

[gooner90]

they're still a bunch of cheating arseholes and the ref was biased in the firs thalf, i cant remember much of the 2nd, i still think we should of came out and put in harder challenges hwoever the odd ones we did we got penalised for even when we shouldnt of been. Also we need a striker, fair play to bendy he got a quickly beat the keeper to it and finished well but we lacked pace up front when we broke away bendtner lost it a couple times where as if you had someone like henry he would of at least got a shot off and made an attempt

[lucifer82]

Bang on the money whoever said about our lack of workrate, fight. I just caught a glimpse of the final stats, before Sky got rid of em to cream over Messi. Barca ran more than us tonight, they covered more ground, I think it was 116km to 112km in their favour. Says alot.
I'm embarassed in all honesty. I don't know whether it was unbelievable arrogance or stupidity to think we can play the best team in the world, a team that holds every title available, that contains the best player in the world and core players from Spain's Euro Championship winnin side. Its like we just turned up for a fun kick about. "Whatever you can do, we can do better". Well now we know we can't. It was painful to watch. A game of that magnitude and we seem to have no gameplan in place whatsoever, no ideas of how to limit their most effective players. To me it seems we went there that we can match them individually. Do me a favour. I don't remember Barca steamrollin any team in the Champs League like that for the past 2 years. Some Ukrainian side beat em, yet we could never beat them in this lifetime nor the next with our general attitude and some of our players. They are a great side, a brilliant side, but we gave them every available opportunity to be. I'm not gonna start coatin off our players, but we want to be like Barcelona, yeah? Bendtner wouldnt be allowed in the car park at the Nou Camp, and there's alot more I could say the same about. I'm not knockin Bendy, but the system does not suit him, it doesnt seem to suit the full backs or indeed the entire defence, it doesnt suit Arshavin, it doesnt suit Nasri, the Rosicky I remember from his Bundesliga days was a swashbucklin, creative, spectacular goal scorin playmaker. The only one it suits is Fabregas, and after that he'll probably bugger off in the summer, with some feeble excuse, a la Henry.
I like Messi, great, great player. Could go on to be judged as the finest to have played, but I cant sit there and watch Keys ask Gullit and Souness if after that game is he now best. After beatin Arsenal? Turn it in!
Somethin has to change at Arsenal. We're lucky to be anywhere near winnin the title this season. Our inability to defend properly is frightenin, embarassin and it actually angers me. The players need to mature and mature fast, because the longer we go on losin big games so convincingly, the problem is gonna deepen.

Best post of the evening. Comes from the heart and sums up all of my frustrations too.

Best post of the evening? That person just said they were embaressed. That's f***ing disgusting.

I usualy agree with you as well PG

I agree with Yorky, you're having a laugh if you think that's the best post of the hour let alone the day.
Big bag of shite imo.
How can you be embarrassed of your own team when we had the entire spine of our team missing and played against the best team on the planet?
They humiliated a FULL STRENGTH Manure last season and Manure couldn't even score against them, or get the ball off of them for five minutes for that matter.

How can any fan expect our substitutes to measure up against a squad with five times the money and five times the depth?
Wake up and get real man.

How can I not be embarassed by a team, no, a squad that doesn't know how to defend effectively as a unit? Players who in game after game get caught out and make individual errors? I don't deny for one second that we were severly depleted and we were playin the best side in the world. When all is said and done, we just don't seem to have any "backs to the wall" spirit. We get intimidated, outfought and show too much respect to clubs that we're supposedly in direct contention with to win titles.
That line about them havin more money and squad depth don't mean sh*t to me. Valdes, Milito, Marques, Keita, Maxwell... hardly household, multi million pound superstars. Even their young players come in to the side, show no fear and mix wiv the best, like Pedro, Busquets, Bojan. I'm still waitin for the likes of Walcott and Nasri to turn up and play in big games even play well consistently throughout a season. Whoever Barca have in their team, be it the big names who get all the plaudits or the lesser names, they play for eachother, for the club, its fans and its history and if you don't like it, they ship you out et al Eto'o, Ronaldinho and soon to be Henry. They play a total brand of football but I don't regard their defence as anythin extraordinary, but they're efficient in the way they defend, how they win the ball back and how they use it there after. They're a complete unit. We actually look frightened to death when we defend, and that's against anyone. Look how our goal difference has suffered in the PL because of that inability.
Our "substitutes" as it were, it's expected of them and understandle to get beat 6-3 by a Barca team that switched off for at least 30mins in the first leg and just strolled it in the 2nd half of the 2nd leg? Yer not havin that one on me. Surely to God, if you go to in to a game against the best and you're missin some key players, you adjust, find a way of tryin to get the best out of who's comin into the side, sacrifice your style a wee bit, try to keep things even as long as possible and just dig in, give it all you've got cos it's 1 game and anythin can happen. I don't think one player did that for us tonight. I think Wenger went there with an arrogance, tellin his players that we'll play Barca at their own game and I don't think hardly anyone in our squad had belief in that idea cos far too many are weak mentally. The only thing Pep Guardiola had to think about this past week is if Walcott was playin. He did, and they worked him out in next to no time.
Barca are great, but we helped them along the way. I haven't seen them dominate and bully a team like that in the Champs League the past 2-3 years, even against "minnows" from low ranked European countries. So if we should find it acceptable that our "substitutes" are totally swept aside, then we've got no much too hope for.

[absolutely_fabregas]

What did we learn? We cant defend? We have no squad depth? Walcott should only be ever used as an impact sub? Barca are very good?

We all knew that anyway.

I dont buy the blaming them for diving etc, its overly biased and hypocritical as our players do exactly the same every game.



Dunno how Wenger can seriously try and put the understrength team out and go and try and match up with them

Surely more sense would be pack out the midfield with "tacklers" diaby, denilson,eboue and nasri. An play Bendy with walcott buzzing around him

Im all for "playing our way" but when we were missing our 5 best players, the sensible thing would be to alter the system a wee bit?

Meh,lets go for the League!!

[Goose]

We should have defended like mad after the 1st goal, we gave them too much time and space on the ball

Instead, they scored minutes after.

[StLGooner]

What did we learn? We cant defend? We have no squad depth? Walcott should only be ever used as an impact sub? Barca are very good?

We all knew that anyway.

I dont buy the blaming them for diving etc, its overly biased and hypocritical as our players do exactly the same every game.


Dunno how Wenger can seriously try and put the understrength team out and go and try and match up with them

Surely more sense would be pack out the midfield with "tacklers" diaby, denilson,eboue and nasri. An play Bendy with walcott buzzing around him

Im all for "playing our way" but when we were missing our 5 best players, the sensible thing would be to alter the system a wee bit?

Meh,lets go for the League!!

Exactly!! We got a taste of our own medicine there, granted the ref didn't help much, but we'd be hypocritical to complain.


The one positive I take from it is, that we played a far superior team, and maybe we can take a little lesson on how to play a bit better, and playing better teams like that can only make our players better.

They defended as a team better, when they close down they close down with 3 or 4 players and limit our options to pass, and when we close down we only close down with one player and they can easily pass around that. Plus, their passing games was miles ahead of us, and even though we didn't have a lot of time on the ball, we still could've had options to pass if our other players would move around a bit. They pass and move and pass and move better than anyone, we tried to dribble out of things too much when it was impossible, but they did a good job of taking away our options. We were out played, out coached, and out classed by the best team in the world, lets learn from it.

[lucifer82]

Dunno how Wenger can seriously try and put the understrength team out and go and try and match up with them

Surely more sense would be pack out the midfield with "tacklers" diaby, denilson,eboue and nasri. An play Bendy with walcott buzzing around him

Im all for "playing our way" but when we were missing our 5 best players, the sensible thing would be to alter the system a wee bit?

Meh,lets go for the League!!

I'm on your wavelength, pal. Even with our full XI, we still leak goals or give away too many clear cut chances. Yet, we go in to that game depleted and try and "outbox" them so to speak. Bafflin. In a way, I suppose it shows the confidence Wenger has in his squad. But after such a complete trouncin, it either makes him look deluded and arrogant or it's the wake up call that our players aren't, in the words of Wenger, "top, top level".
The league is Chelsea's to lose now. We can win our 5 games and still not win the league. We're was the league lost? I'd lay the blame at the 4 games against Utd and Chelsea where we bottled it and rolled over. Much like these 2 Barca ties.

[StLGooner]

Bang on the money whoever said about our lack of workrate, fight. I just caught a glimpse of the final stats, before Sky got rid of em to cream over Messi. Barca ran more than us tonight, they covered more ground, I think it was 116km to 112km in their favour. Says alot.
I'm embarassed in all honesty. I don't know whether it was unbelievable arrogance or stupidity to think we can play the best team in the world, a team that holds every title available, that contains the best player in the world and core players from Spain's Euro Championship winnin side. Its like we just turned up for a fun kick about. "Whatever you can do, we can do better". Well now we know we can't. It was painful to watch. A game of that magnitude and we seem to have no gameplan in place whatsoever, no ideas of how to limit their most effective players. To me it seems we went there that we can match them individually. Do me a favour. I don't remember Barca steamrollin any team in the Champs League like that for the past 2 years. Some Ukrainian side beat em, yet we could never beat them in this lifetime nor the next with our general attitude and some of our players. They are a great side, a brilliant side, but we gave them every available opportunity to be. I'm not gonna start coatin off our players, but we want to be like Barcelona, yeah? Bendtner wouldnt be allowed in the car park at the Nou Camp, and there's alot more I could say the same about. I'm not knockin Bendy, but the system does not suit him, it doesnt seem to suit the full backs or indeed the entire defence, it doesnt suit Arshavin, it doesnt suit Nasri, the Rosicky I remember from his Bundesliga days was a swashbucklin, creative, spectacular goal scorin playmaker. The only one it suits is Fabregas, and after that he'll probably bugger off in the summer, with some feeble excuse, a la Henry.
I like Messi, great, great player. Could go on to be judged as the finest to have played, but I cant sit there and watch Keys ask Gullit and Souness if after that game is he now best. After beatin Arsenal? Turn it in!
Somethin has to change at Arsenal. We're lucky to be anywhere near winnin the title this season. Our inability to defend properly is frightenin, embarassin and it actually angers me. The players need to mature and mature fast, because the longer we go on losin big games so convincingly, the problem is gonna deepen.

Best post of the evening. Comes from the heart and sums up all of my frustrations too.

Best post of the evening? That person just said they were embaressed. That's f***ing disgusting.

I usualy agree with you as well PG

I agree with Yorky, you're having a laugh if you think that's the best post of the hour let alone the day.
Big bag of shite imo.
How can you be embarrassed of your own team when we had the entire spine of our team missing and played against the best team on the planet?
They humiliated a FULL STRENGTH Manure last season and Manure couldn't even score against them, or get the ball off of them for five minutes for that matter.

How can any fan expect our substitutes to measure up against a squad with five times the money and five times the depth?
Wake up and get real man.

How can I not be embarassed by a team, no, a squad that doesn't know how to defend effectively as a unit? Players who in game after game get caught out and make individual errors? I don't deny for one second that we were severly depleted and we were playin the best side in the world. When all is said and done, we just don't seem to have any "backs to the wall" spirit. We get intimidated, outfought and show too much respect to clubs that we're supposedly in direct contention with to win titles.
That line about them havin more money and squad depth don't mean sh*t to me. Valdes, Milito, Marques, Keita, Maxwell... hardly household, multi million pound superstars. Even their young players come in to the side, show no fear and mix wiv the best, like Pedro, Busquets, Bojan. I'm still waitin for the likes of Walcott and Nasri to turn up and play in big games even play well consistently throughout a season. Whoever Barca have in their team, be it the big names who get all the plaudits or the lesser names, they play for eachother, for the club, its fans and its history and if you don't like it, they ship you out et al Eto'o, Ronaldinho and soon to be Henry. They play a total brand of football but I don't regard their defence as anythin extraordinary, but they're efficient in the way they defend, how they win the ball back and how they use it there after. They're a complete unit. We actually look frightened to death when we defend, and that's against anyone. Look how our goal difference has suffered in the PL because of that inability.
Our "substitutes" as it were, it's expected of them and understandle to get beat 6-3 by a Barca team that switched off for at least 30mins in the first leg and just strolled it in the 2nd half of the 2nd leg? Yer not havin that one on me. Surely to God, if you go to in to a game against the best and you're missin some key players, you adjust, find a way of tryin to get the best out of who's comin into the side, sacrifice your style a wee bit, try to keep things even as long as possible and just dig in, give it all you've got cos it's 1 game and anythin can happen. I don't think one player did that for us tonight. I think Wenger went there with an arrogance, tellin his players that we'll play Barca at their own game and I don't think hardly anyone in our squad had belief in that idea cos far too many are weak mentally. The only thing Pep Guardiola had to think about this past week is if Walcott was playin. He did, and they worked him out in next to no time.
Barca are great, but we helped them along the way. I haven't seen them dominate and bully a team like that in the Champs League the past 2-3 years, even against "minnows" from low ranked European countries. So if we should find it acceptable that our "substitutes" are totally swept aside, then we've got no much too hope for.

Inch, that arguement of us missing our best players doesn't hold up. They were missing 4 of theirs, Ibra, Iniesta, two CB's, which is equivelant to RvP, Cesc, Gallas and Song pretty much. I ain't gonna go as far as to say I'm embarrassed, but we got raped!!!

[Bristol_Gunner]

Dunno how Wenger can seriously try and put the understrength team out and go and try and match up with them

Surely more sense would be pack out the midfield with "tacklers" diaby, denilson,eboue and nasri. An play Bendy with walcott buzzing around him

Im all for "playing our way" but when we were missing our 5 best players, the sensible thing would be to alter the system a wee bit?

Meh,lets go for the League!!

I'm on your wavelength, pal. Even with our full XI, we still leak goals or give away too many clear cut chances. Yet, we go in to that game depleted and try and "outbox" them so to speak. Bafflin. In a way, I suppose it shows the confidence Wenger has in his squad. But after such a complete trouncin, it either makes him look deluded and arrogant or it's the wake up call that our players aren't, in the words of Wenger, "top, top level".
The league is Chelsea's to lose now. We can win our 5 games and still not win the league. We're was the league lost? I'd lay the blame at the 4 games against Utd and Chelsea where we bottled it and rolled over. Much like these 2 Barca ties.

Sigh you blame it on the mac and chelsea games where we lsot the league. Yes they were a contributing factor, quite a big one but its results like Birmingham, Burnley and West ham where we osot it. Bread and butter games we should of won (though the brum one was going to be tough) where we lead in them all and yet we lost. Though the first Manc game could be included as we really should have won. Man u proved last year you dont need to beat the big guns to win the league.

Yes we were outclassed tonight but seriously its obviously going to be tough with 5 first team players out and using denilson as a dm. He made 1 decent tackle and that was unfairly called a foul. Yes the whole team did not work hard enough but for me their is too much negativity on the board tonight. At times you have to say the better team won and that's what the team were saying. Their were moments in the match which could of been massive. I mean what if Diaby had chosen the right pass. Some of the lucky bounces to Barca players. (though the Arsenal players weren't exactly running to them).

People need a bit of perspective here yes it was a bad result but not as bad as we think. It can only help the team learn and hopefully Wenger will buy the required replacements. 2 new strikers, 2 new Defenders perhaps. 1 more defensive midfielder. However I believe we are heading in the right direction (fingers crossed this season wasn't a fluke).

One more thing Barca really did not allow us to play. Even in the games vs the mancs and chelsea we had more threat in those games though we were still outclassed.

[Goose]

The league was "lost" by us drawing to teams like West Ham, Aston Villa, Burnley & Birmingham, when we should have won those matches.

Also losing to Manure when we should have won/drew the game, if it wasn't for a soft penalty and own goal.

[StLGooner]

I didn't know the league was lost yet....something I've missed?

[Bristol_Gunner]

Well we still have a chance obviously but i was merely responding to Lucifer. But we aren't in the same position as we were 3 weeks ago.

Also the point about missing 4 of their big players is so-so. Barca pretty much carry Ibra through games at times giving him chances on a plat. If you create chances someone will score no matter who and in my opinion he's no better or worse than Eto'o. Well even with Iniesta out that argument is only truly valid if Xavi is out too and in fact Xavi for me is the better player though both are for me the bets midfielders in the world. The defenders is also not so accurate for me because the key part of Barcas defence is their ability to press the ball high up the pitch, as seen over the past few legs.

[Goose]

They score more goals when Messi plays through the middle instead of
Ibrasonofabitch

[StLGooner]

Well we still have a chance obviously but i was merely responding to Lucifer.

Also the point about missing 4 of their big players is so-so. Barca pretty much carry Ibra through games at times giving him chances on a plat. If you create chances someone will score no matter who and in my opinion he's no better or worse than Eto'o. Well even with Iniesta out that argument is only truly valid if Xavi is out too and in fact Xavi for me is the better player though both are for me the bets midfielders in the world. The defenders is also not so accurate for me because the key part of Barcas defence is their ability to press the ball high up the pitch, as seen over the past few legs.

So basically no matter who they play or who we play, they're still better. Still the same point.

[lucifer82]

Dunno how Wenger can seriously try and put the understrength team out and go and try and match up with them

Surely more sense would be pack out the midfield with "tacklers" diaby, denilson,eboue and nasri. An play Bendy with walcott buzzing around him

Im all for "playing our way" but when we were missing our 5 best players, the sensible thing would be to alter the system a wee bit?

Meh,lets go for the League!!

I'm on your wavelength, pal. Even with our full XI, we still leak goals or give away too many clear cut chances. Yet, we go in to that game depleted and try and "outbox" them so to speak. Bafflin. In a way, I suppose it shows the confidence Wenger has in his squad. But after such a complete trouncin, it either makes him look deluded and arrogant or it's the wake up call that our players aren't, in the words of Wenger, "top, top level".
The league is Chelsea's to lose now. We can win our 5 games and still not win the league. We're was the league lost? I'd lay the blame at the 4 games against Utd and Chelsea where we bottled it and rolled over. Much like these 2 Barca ties.

Sigh you blame it on the mac and chelsea games where we lsot the league. Yes they were a contributing factor, quite a big one but its results like Birmingham, Burnley and West ham where we osot it. Bread and butter games we should of won (though the brum one was going to be tough) where we lead in them all and yet we lost. Though the first Manc game could be included as we really should have won. Man u proved last year you dont need to beat the big guns to win the league.

Yes we were outclassed tonight but seriously its obviously going to be tough with 5 first team players out and using denilson as a dm. He made 1 decent tackle and that was unfairly called a foul. Yes the whole team did not work hard enough but for me their is too much negativity on the board tonight. At times you have to say the better team won and that's what the team were saying. Their were moments in the match which could of been massive. I mean what if Diaby had chosen the right pass. Some of the lucky bounces to Barca players. (though the Arsenal players weren't exactly running to them).

People need a bit of perspective here yes it was a bad result but not as bad as we think. It can only help the team learn and hopefully Wenger will buy the required replacements. 2 new strikers, 2 new Defenders perhaps. 1 more defensive midfielder. However I believe we are heading in the right direction (fingers crossed this season wasn't a fluke).

One more thing Barca really did not allow us to play. Even in the games vs the mancs and chelsea we had more threat in those games though we were still outclassed.

I agree wiv yer in some aspects, mate. But, I look at the Utd and Chelsea games as far more damagin, cos not only do we lose points and they gain, it affects the confidence. It's noe a big, big problem. It's like we've developed an inferiority complex.
I think alot of players at Arsenal are confidence players. Rosicky has never lit up for me at Arsenal. Nasri is really yet to do so. Then yer've got Vela. These are players who when they joined had reputations as skilful, dynamic players. It seems there's somethin in our squad that the pressure of expectation leads them to play within themselves.
I think if we somehow manage to implement a defensive style, get certain players assigned certain defensive roles to complement our attackin play, we're onto a winner. As of now, it looks like we have absolutely no regard for defensive shape, a system, a style, how to tackle etc. In the Prem, we can afford to let Stoke, Wolves, Burnley have time on the ball... but even those teams get at us and too easily.
I watched Messi tonight, him in particular, but Bojan and Pedro. They harried our defensive line, they were like wasps. We had trouble gettin the ball out from the back. No offence to Bendtner, but he aint quick enough or mobile enough to run down defenders and the likes of Arshavin, I don't think he can be ars*d with that and it'd blow him out after an hour.

[Bristol_Gunner]

Well we still have a chance obviously but i was merely responding to Lucifer.

Also the point about missing 4 of their big players is so-so. Barca pretty much carry Ibra through games at times giving him chances on a plat. If you create chances someone will score no matter who and in my opinion he's no better or worse than Eto'o. Well even with Iniesta out that argument is only truly valid if Xavi is out too and in fact Xavi for me is the better player though both are for me the bets midfielders in the world. The defenders is also not so accurate for me because the key part of Barcas defence is their ability to press the ball high up the pitch, as seen over the past few legs.

So basically no matter who they play or who we play, they're still better. Still the same point.

For me its not so much who but how. I was disagreeing with you on the fact that you said us loosing 4 players is like them loosing 4 key players. On paper when you compare the two first teams you can say that Barca's is better but football isnt always about individual skill. Its also about Tactics, and its Barca's tactics and pressing of the ball which impressed me most and was the main reason we lost the tie.