I have never been a fan of either Barcelona or Arsenal (to say the very least), but there was no denying the fact that their confrontation made up one of the most exciting matches of this year (World Cup excluded): the impersonation of football as art against the eternal prototype. The father against the son.
There aren’t a thousand ways to put it: Barcelona’s first half is an absolute demonstration of how football should be played. From the first to the forty-fifth minute the Blaugrana simply outplayed the Gunners and their home crowd. When words stop to be efficient to describe actions, statistics kick in (at least in football): at half time the ball possession is 70% for the visitors with 12 shots (half of them on target). If it hadn’t been for an extraterrestrial Almunia, Arsenal could have been running after the score after solely 15 minutes. First, on Busquets and then on Messi (1st and 6th), the Spanish goalkeeper clearly declares that Barcelona is going to have to do better than their usual Primera Division performances to acquire a goal. And even when they do, with Xavi and Ibrahimovic (both on the 14th), Almunia pulls out impossible saves to deny them the precious away goals. The Arsenal defence is nowhere to be found, melting like butter in front of Messi and co. And when the extreme defender is not involved, Sagna finds a way to deflect Pedro’s shot in corner kick (17th). The first twenty minutes smell lousy for the Gunners who barely play around with the ball. Xavi starts his recital, full of body feints, short passes and nutmegs. While Messi and Ibra devour some Gallas and Vermaelen. Song relies on his petty fouls to slow the pace down but no can do: everyone on the Spanish side gets to put a cross in, creating panic in the Gunners’ defence. Nasri is the only one to play par with a shot that shortly sends chills down the spine of Valdes by evading the post (23rd). That’s about it for the home team. The rest is Blaugrana (or tonight more like bright yellow). Puyol and Pique are impeccable on the few crosses that come their way, Fabregas receives a devastating yellow card (he will miss the return), Gallas relapses his injury, Arshavine hurts himself on an ugly tackle. The symphony seems complete for Barcelona who show no mercy, with the exception of goals, but that’s credit to Almunia. Arsenal seems helpless, with Denilson and Eboue not being able to resolve the situation any more than the starting 11. The game holds its promises with an entertaining flow, yet much too one-sided to be considered a confrontation of any sort. “E-F-F-E-C-T, a smooth operator operating correctly”*
The half time images show Thierry Henry whom everyone had forgotten about. He shouldn’t have talked so much about not playing, Barcelona seems fine without him. (Has anyone seen his penis?)
The second half starts with what everyone was waiting for (a lot of ‘w’): a goal. Pique (yes, in Barcelona even the center backs can pitch a perfect assist) launches Ibrahimovic, forgotten by Song, now central defender. Almunia comes out to counter the tall Swede; the lob is inevitable, 1-0, 46th. The lead is logical and deserved. Barcelona grow in confidence with an incredible technical ease: nutmegs, sliding tackles as passes, back heel blind passes, chest passes, so on so forth; everything you wish you could so well with a ball, Barca can. With an average of about a thousand successful passes in a row, Barcelona accelerates the pace at will. Yet, inexplicably (more about this later) for a drowning team, Arsenal finds the resources to procure itself a chance by the means of Bendtner. At the reception of cross, the Great Dane sends a header flying towards the Barcelona goal, pushing Valdes to a great reflex save (52nd). Seeing the imminent danger, Xavi rehearses the part, sending a deep ball over Vermaelen, to an Ibra who, this time, crucifies Almunia with a bullet. 2-0, 58th. Same goal, almost. Now with a confortable lead (that’s what they think), Guardiola’s warriors pull the handbrake and play possession. Wenger plays his joker, Walcott. The effect is immediate. After a first almost-chance, the young (annoying) Brit smokes Maxwell on the overlap and puts the ball in Valdes’ net (69th). The stadium itself can’t really believe, but, as improbable as it seemed ten minutes ago, Arsenal are back in the game. A newfound youth, especially for Fabregas and Nasri who now play around a slightly destabilized Barcelona defence. Ball possession turns in the Gunners’ favour. Messi conducts a counter attack only to see Almunia block his attempt (76th), thing that almost never happens. After a prolonged good spell, Fabregas pushes Puyol to conceed the penalty kick. The red card is severe. Regardless, the to-be-Barcelona player transforms the penalty with a rage that reveals something of a bizarre destiny (84th). 2-2 final score. Arsenal tie against the giants. Surprising, considering they didn’t even have their first choice team on the field when they played their best. Barcelona can start thinking about what solutions they will find to Pique’s and Puyol’s absences, and obtain a favourable result. Finally, we will wait until the end of the return game to judge which team is better, right?
Grades
Arsenal - 3 then 7: Absolutely inexistent during the first half, the Gunners poured their heart out during the second to construct a (improbable) comeback. Hope is still alive, yet not fully as Fabregas will be missing at the Camp Nou.
Almunia – 7.5 and 4: The theme of night was clear: famously overrated keepers display their real worth with amazing saves, to which Almunia abided well, if it wasn’t for the bleak reminder (see: Ibrahomovic’s first goal).
Sagna – 4: Horrible defending during the first half; didn’t even put in a good cross.
Gallas – 4: Sucked then injured, Domenech will be delighted…
Vermaelen – 5: Although giving way too much space to Ibra and Messi, Vermaelen had to do everything alone, as usual.
Clichy – 5: There isn’t much you can do when defending against Messi, so Gael didn’t stop bringing the ball down his left side at a sonic speed.
Song – 5: The mistake of letting Ibra go alone on both goal is his, made up by securing the little he could when his team was on the attack.
Diaby – 4: The loss of hair provokes the loss of performance, his tackle on Keita is possibly the only reason he will be remembered in this game.
Fabregas – 5 then 7: Choked during the first half, Cesc then showed he was worthy of playing with Barcelona next season by distributing gold to his teammates and scoring a crucial goal. The soap opera continued when he played with a cramp. Will miss next game. Cesc lives in a reality tv show.
Nasri – 7: Fantastic, the only player to raise himself to the event all along the 90 minutes.
Bendtner – 6: It seems Niklas is finding his ease as a centre forward, well involved in both goals.
Arshavine – N/A: Did he touch the ball?
.Eboue – 5: Did the job.
.Denilson – 5: Didn’t stand out either with mistakes or genius.
.Walcott – 7: The real catalyser provoked the turn of the game alone with his speed and will. Maybe too late on the field?
Barcelona – 7 then 5: The plot was perfect for about an hour, the Blaugrana were then hit by some distant God’s decision to sway things in the other direction.
Valdes – 6 then 4: In the same wavelength as Almunia, the goalkeeper was author of a great save on Bendtner, crucial had he dealt with Walcott’s shot appropriately. To be noted: Victor plays more as a field player than a real keeper anyways.
Alves – 7: Absolutely frantic and glued to his sideline, the Brazilian sent a strong message to the other competitor in the category “best right back”, Maicon.
Pique – 7: There are rumours of a Beckenbauer apparition at the Emirates Stadium this Wednesday, but it was just Nelson delivering an excellent assist and covering just about everything in defence.
Puyol – 7: It’s impossible to give Carles a bad grade to, the penalty was unavoidable, the red card severe.
Maxwell – 5: A pleasant game where Maxwell practised his technique, until Walcott came around.
Busquets – 4: Died slowly after his shot during the first minute.
Keita – 5: It’s hard to replace Iniesta, all his passes were to Xavi.
Xavi – 7.5: The real brain of the team, put in the spotlight by Iniesta’s absence, the little Spaniard played for two, but did so oh-so-well. A real diamond
Messi – 6: After a good start, stayed on the low, disappointing.
Pedro – 6: ADHD personified, didn’t always make the right decisions but justified Henry’s place on the bench.
Ibrahimovic – 7: If he hadn’t scored against English clubs before, Ibracadabra chose the right game to, in style too, as always.
.Henry – 0: Didn’t seem like he wanted to score, does he realize no one cares anymore?
.Milito – N/A: Had time to show his face, so you know who he is by the return game where he will probably start.
*From EricB & Rakim - "Microphone Fiend"
TFO
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