This is the first Champions League match I am previewing, and I'd have to say what a time to start! This is the match the whole footballing world is waiting for. Two "proper" footballing teams who play the most exciting and attacking brand of football. One thing is sure though: this match will live up to all the hype. So fasten your seat belts as we wait for an unforgettable game to be played out. But first, get ready to rack your brains as we break down on what is going to happen tonight.
Let us first take a look at Barcelona, the perennial favourites in any game and any competition:
Barcelona:
Formation: 4-3-3
Barcelona deploy a modified 4-3-3, as shown above. David Villa and Pedro hold the flanks while Messi slots in as a false nine, often dropping in the midfield. This allows Barcelona to outnumber the opposition in the midfield and helps in keeping possession. Also, their right back Dani Alves plays so high that he acts like a second winger. So, the two centre backs move out wide to compensate for this and Sergio Busquets slots in the middle of the two as a third centre back.
Strengths:
i) Highly skilled one touch passing: All Barcelona players are adept at sharp passing and close control. This is also possible because of constant movement among players who try to find space or make themselves available for a pass.
ii) Great understanding among teammates: This has been made together as the majority of the players have played alongside each other for a number of years. So, when Xavi has the ball, for example, he has a plethora of passing options as he knows exactly where the other players - Messi, Iniesta, Alves, Pedro - are making their runs.
iii) Possession football: In every match you expect Barcelona to have more than 65% of the possession, even when they lose. That is no mean feat and it requires high technical skill, real patience and relentless pressure, which brings me to the next point
iv) Choking pressure: When you play against Barcelona, they will squeeze the life out of you if you happen to have the ball. As soon as an opposing player receives a pass, he is not allowed any time or space on the ball. Barcelona will keep harassing the opponents until they get the ball back. They will push up the defenders so high that it makes life really difficult for the opposing teams to hold the ball for any period of time.
v) Lionel Andrés Messi: Capable of producing magic any moment, the two time World Player of the Year is the most lethal of all of Barcelona's weapons. He has a knack of applying the finishing touch to the moves made by Xavi, Iniesta ans Co, although he can pick out a dangerous pass or through ball himself, or destroy a defence on his own.
Weaknesses:
Do Barcelona have any weakness? Every system has its pros and cons and because Barca are so attack minded, the following points can be used against them:
i) Lack of a traditional centre forward: Since Barca do not have one, they cannot use crosses from the wingers even if the wingers are in a good position to cross.
ii) Lack of height: Most of Barca's players are short, and hence present a disadvantage in terms of set pieces. Often, Barca play out their corners by passing it short.
iii) High defensive line: Since Barca press relentlessly from the front, the back line is forced to move up very high in order for the pressing to succeed. But from time to time Barca have been caught out because of their high defensive line when a fast opposition player runs through to a pass.(I'll touch upon this in detail a little later).
Team news:
Goalkeepers: Valdes, Pinto
Defenders: Alves, Pique, Milito, Maxwell, Adriano, Abidal
Midfielders: Xavi, Iniesta, Mascherano, Keita, Sergio Busquets, Thiago
Strikers: Villa, Bojan, Messi, Pedro, Afellay
The team news for Barca is that their captain Carles Puyol has missed out due to injury. So either Gabriel Milito or Eric Abidal will deputize for him in centre back position. Maxwell might play in the left back if Abidal is chosen over Milito.
Arsenal:
Formation: 4-2-3-1/ 4-3-3
Arsenal use a 4-2-3-1 with Song and Wilshere as two holding midfielders and Cesc ahead of them. The midfield trio is highly dynamic and they take turns to go forward, which really confuses the opposition. Robin van Persie plays the false nine role here too, the difference with Barca being that van Persie can act as a traditional centre forward if needed.
Strengths:
i) Lightning fast counter attack: The Arsenal Invincibles have come and gone but if one trait has remained all these years, it is the ability of the team to launch super fast counter attacks. With Walcott and Arshavin in the team, Arsenal will always pose a threat from counter attacks.
ii) Variety of attacking options: This season, 4 Arsenal players have scored 10 or more goals while Cesc has scored 9 and Arshavin 8. This just goes to show any attacking player can pop up to score at any time, and Arsenal don't depend on any one single player to score goals. And just look at the variety we have: the class and finishing of van Persie, the pace of Walcott, the poise and technical ability of Nasri, the unpredictability of Arshavin, the aerial ability of ChamakhFabregas, and don't forget the occasional yet crucial goals scored by Songhinho! All in all, we have an awesome all round attack.
iii) Quick and sharp passing: Not many teams can pass the ball from one part of the field to another. Even Barca don't pass as fast as we do, in terms of passing out from the back. Our sharp and pin point passing has many a time cut open stubborn defences frequently.
iv) Dynamic midfield trio: Though young Jack Wilshere is playing his first full season with Arsenal. he has already shown maturity and poise beyond years. Even Cesc has admitted that he wasn't this good when he was at the same age as Jack. And with his first England start underway, the 19 year old lad is brimming with confidence. And he has served as a great foil for our midfield destroyer Alex Song. Their understanding has been key in us maintaining a title challenge in the Premier league.
v) Francesc Fabregas Soler: What do I say about him that has already not been said before. He is, even at 23 years of age, the man and true leader of the team, our El Capitan. His vision and ability to pick out a pass is second to none and he will have a big role to play in this tie.
Weaknesses:
i) Set pieces and high balls: These have been our Achilles hell for a long time. Barca may not use these tactics as much as some teams in the Premier League but we really need good organization from set pieces to cut out basic and silly mistakes.
ii) Mentality: So many times recently, Arsenal have shown brilliance and glimpses of strength before collapsing spectacularly. When faced with a weaker opposition, we tend to lose our cool whereas when we face a strong opposition, we tend to go into a shell.
iii) Inexperienced defence: Even though our defence is showing signs of improvement, we've had 5 clean sheets in January, we're still inexperienced and there is still room for improvement. Our best defender Thomas Vermaelen has played just three games all season and we have suffered a bit. But Djourou and Koscielny have stepped in impressively and they will have a big big task come Wednesday night.
Team news:
The news doing the rounds is that SAMIR NASRI IS FIT TO FACE BARCA. That is a HUGE MORALE BOOST for the Gunners. Diaby is out with a calf injury but Rosicky steps back in. Vermaelen and Fabianski are long term absentees.
One vital factor that may influence the game is that Bacary Sagna is suspended for the first leg having picked up a red card in the final league match of the group stage.
Tactics:
Ok, enough of the comparisons. This is after all an Arsenal blog and right now, Barcelona are our enemy. So now, let us analyse the ways in which Arsenal can really hurt Barcelona.
First of all, Barca deploy an extremely high defensive line in order for their pressing to succeed. And as I have mentioned earlier, this has been exposed from time to time when a speedy player has broken through to capitalize on Barca's high line. And when we speak of speedy players, it does not get faster than our own Theo Walcott. Walcott terrorized the Barca left back Maxwell when we played them last time. This time though, Walcott is getting that chance from the first minute. Add to it that both Cesc and Jack can ping the ball forward for him, expect to see such situations as given in the following link:
And for some more recent and related evidence, check out our second goal scored against Wolves just three days ago:
Observe how Wolves are pressing extremely high, in our own half, before a fantastic through ball from Cesc Fabregas releases Theo Walcott who sprints down clear until he arrives at the same line of van Persie and lays the ball from him to score. That is the kind of pressing we're going to have to endure for 180 minutes and you can be sure we're going to make use of this.
Man to man: the battles that will decide the outcome
Villa vs Eboue: Deadly hit man vs unconvincing right back. If there is one area of weakness for us tonight, it is this. This is one of my biggest concerns and Sagna will be missed tonight.
Pedro vs Clichy: Clever winger vs getting-back-in-form left back.
Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets vs Fabregas-Song-Wilshere: This will be a real battle tonight.
Nasri vs Alves: Brilliant technician vs marauding right back. Nasri will be required to track back Dani Alves tonight.
Walcott vs Maxwell: The area of excitement for me and Arsenal fans. Watch this space.
Wild cards:
Lionel Messi: Hmm...so how do we deal with him??? He'll most likely drop back to facilitate Barca's passing game. Tracking him(by one of the centre backs) can be done but I don't think it is such a good idea.
Robin van Persie: The best false nine in business today. Hope he comes up with a big performance and takes his chances clinically.
Concluding thoughts:
Barca have changed some things since we last met them on a football field. Barca have now got David Villa in place of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he lends more fluidity to this Barca attack. This has resulted in Messi moving into the centre of the attack thus making Barca even harder to beat.
For Arsenal, we have come a long way from the last time we met Barcelona. We have a more complete attack, a better if inexperienced defence and a better midfield combination.Though we have capitulated this season to weaker teams, we also have shown we can realise our potential when we beat Chelsea 3-1. We have reached a cup final after a long time and we're on the verge of a quarter final spot in the FA cup. Not to mention that we are the only team left to challenge Man United in what is becoming a two horse title race.
But the most important of them all, we have a fuller squad this time round and we're near full strength as compared to last season when we had no van Persie, no Fabregas, no Arshavin, no Ramsey, no Song, and no decent centre back(remember we had Gallas back then, and he was also out). Add to that Nasri and Walcott were not half of what they are now, and the emergence of Jack Wilshere, Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny and the re emergence of Johan Djourou, we have made big strides. Barca may not find us easy to play against this time round.
My one big wish is that the game is not disturbed by refereeing mistake(s) or unsporting behaviour. Of course, my biggest wish being an Arsenal win without any injuries!
Prediction:
Let's wait and see.....(though I am feeling a lot more positive this time)
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
Let us first take a look at Barcelona, the perennial favourites in any game and any competition:
Formation: 4-3-3
Barcelona deploy a modified 4-3-3, as shown above. David Villa and Pedro hold the flanks while Messi slots in as a false nine, often dropping in the midfield. This allows Barcelona to outnumber the opposition in the midfield and helps in keeping possession. Also, their right back Dani Alves plays so high that he acts like a second winger. So, the two centre backs move out wide to compensate for this and Sergio Busquets slots in the middle of the two as a third centre back.
Strengths:
i) Highly skilled one touch passing: All Barcelona players are adept at sharp passing and close control. This is also possible because of constant movement among players who try to find space or make themselves available for a pass.
ii) Great understanding among teammates: This has been made together as the majority of the players have played alongside each other for a number of years. So, when Xavi has the ball, for example, he has a plethora of passing options as he knows exactly where the other players - Messi, Iniesta, Alves, Pedro - are making their runs.
iii) Possession football: In every match you expect Barcelona to have more than 65% of the possession, even when they lose. That is no mean feat and it requires high technical skill, real patience and relentless pressure, which brings me to the next point
iv) Choking pressure: When you play against Barcelona, they will squeeze the life out of you if you happen to have the ball. As soon as an opposing player receives a pass, he is not allowed any time or space on the ball. Barcelona will keep harassing the opponents until they get the ball back. They will push up the defenders so high that it makes life really difficult for the opposing teams to hold the ball for any period of time.
v) Lionel Andrés Messi: Capable of producing magic any moment, the two time World Player of the Year is the most lethal of all of Barcelona's weapons. He has a knack of applying the finishing touch to the moves made by Xavi, Iniesta ans Co, although he can pick out a dangerous pass or through ball himself, or destroy a defence on his own.
Weaknesses:
Do Barcelona have any weakness? Every system has its pros and cons and because Barca are so attack minded, the following points can be used against them:
i) Lack of a traditional centre forward: Since Barca do not have one, they cannot use crosses from the wingers even if the wingers are in a good position to cross.
ii) Lack of height: Most of Barca's players are short, and hence present a disadvantage in terms of set pieces. Often, Barca play out their corners by passing it short.
iii) High defensive line: Since Barca press relentlessly from the front, the back line is forced to move up very high in order for the pressing to succeed. But from time to time Barca have been caught out because of their high defensive line when a fast opposition player runs through to a pass.(I'll touch upon this in detail a little later).
Team news:
Goalkeepers: Valdes, Pinto
Defenders: Alves, Pique, Milito, Maxwell, Adriano, Abidal
Midfielders: Xavi, Iniesta, Mascherano, Keita, Sergio Busquets, Thiago
Strikers: Villa, Bojan, Messi, Pedro, Afellay
The team news for Barca is that their captain Carles Puyol has missed out due to injury. So either Gabriel Milito or Eric Abidal will deputize for him in centre back position. Maxwell might play in the left back if Abidal is chosen over Milito.
Arsenal:
Formation: 4-2-3-1/ 4-3-3
Arsenal use a 4-2-3-1 with Song and Wilshere as two holding midfielders and Cesc ahead of them. The midfield trio is highly dynamic and they take turns to go forward, which really confuses the opposition. Robin van Persie plays the false nine role here too, the difference with Barca being that van Persie can act as a traditional centre forward if needed.
Strengths:
i) Lightning fast counter attack: The Arsenal Invincibles have come and gone but if one trait has remained all these years, it is the ability of the team to launch super fast counter attacks. With Walcott and Arshavin in the team, Arsenal will always pose a threat from counter attacks.
ii) Variety of attacking options: This season, 4 Arsenal players have scored 10 or more goals while Cesc has scored 9 and Arshavin 8. This just goes to show any attacking player can pop up to score at any time, and Arsenal don't depend on any one single player to score goals. And just look at the variety we have: the class and finishing of van Persie, the pace of Walcott, the poise and technical ability of Nasri, the unpredictability of Arshavin, the aerial ability of ChamakhFabregas, and don't forget the occasional yet crucial goals scored by Songhinho! All in all, we have an awesome all round attack.
iii) Quick and sharp passing: Not many teams can pass the ball from one part of the field to another. Even Barca don't pass as fast as we do, in terms of passing out from the back. Our sharp and pin point passing has many a time cut open stubborn defences frequently.
iv) Dynamic midfield trio: Though young Jack Wilshere is playing his first full season with Arsenal. he has already shown maturity and poise beyond years. Even Cesc has admitted that he wasn't this good when he was at the same age as Jack. And with his first England start underway, the 19 year old lad is brimming with confidence. And he has served as a great foil for our midfield destroyer Alex Song. Their understanding has been key in us maintaining a title challenge in the Premier league.
v) Francesc Fabregas Soler: What do I say about him that has already not been said before. He is, even at 23 years of age, the man and true leader of the team, our El Capitan. His vision and ability to pick out a pass is second to none and he will have a big role to play in this tie.
Weaknesses:
i) Set pieces and high balls: These have been our Achilles hell for a long time. Barca may not use these tactics as much as some teams in the Premier League but we really need good organization from set pieces to cut out basic and silly mistakes.
ii) Mentality: So many times recently, Arsenal have shown brilliance and glimpses of strength before collapsing spectacularly. When faced with a weaker opposition, we tend to lose our cool whereas when we face a strong opposition, we tend to go into a shell.
iii) Inexperienced defence: Even though our defence is showing signs of improvement, we've had 5 clean sheets in January, we're still inexperienced and there is still room for improvement. Our best defender Thomas Vermaelen has played just three games all season and we have suffered a bit. But Djourou and Koscielny have stepped in impressively and they will have a big big task come Wednesday night.
Team news:
The news doing the rounds is that SAMIR NASRI IS FIT TO FACE BARCA. That is a HUGE MORALE BOOST for the Gunners. Diaby is out with a calf injury but Rosicky steps back in. Vermaelen and Fabianski are long term absentees.
One vital factor that may influence the game is that Bacary Sagna is suspended for the first leg having picked up a red card in the final league match of the group stage.
Tactics:
Ok, enough of the comparisons. This is after all an Arsenal blog and right now, Barcelona are our enemy. So now, let us analyse the ways in which Arsenal can really hurt Barcelona.
First of all, Barca deploy an extremely high defensive line in order for their pressing to succeed. And as I have mentioned earlier, this has been exposed from time to time when a speedy player has broken through to capitalize on Barca's high line. And when we speak of speedy players, it does not get faster than our own Theo Walcott. Walcott terrorized the Barca left back Maxwell when we played them last time. This time though, Walcott is getting that chance from the first minute. Add to it that both Cesc and Jack can ping the ball forward for him, expect to see such situations as given in the following link:
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/12/15/offside-goal/
And for some more recent and related evidence, check out our second goal scored against Wolves just three days ago:
Observe how Wolves are pressing extremely high, in our own half, before a fantastic through ball from Cesc Fabregas releases Theo Walcott who sprints down clear until he arrives at the same line of van Persie and lays the ball from him to score. That is the kind of pressing we're going to have to endure for 180 minutes and you can be sure we're going to make use of this.
Man to man: the battles that will decide the outcome
Villa vs Eboue: Deadly hit man vs unconvincing right back. If there is one area of weakness for us tonight, it is this. This is one of my biggest concerns and Sagna will be missed tonight.
Pedro vs Clichy: Clever winger vs getting-back-in-form left back.
Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets vs Fabregas-Song-Wilshere: This will be a real battle tonight.
Nasri vs Alves: Brilliant technician vs marauding right back. Nasri will be required to track back Dani Alves tonight.
Walcott vs Maxwell: The area of excitement for me and Arsenal fans. Watch this space.
Wild cards:
Lionel Messi: Hmm...so how do we deal with him??? He'll most likely drop back to facilitate Barca's passing game. Tracking him(by one of the centre backs) can be done but I don't think it is such a good idea.
Robin van Persie: The best false nine in business today. Hope he comes up with a big performance and takes his chances clinically.
Concluding thoughts:
Barca have changed some things since we last met them on a football field. Barca have now got David Villa in place of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he lends more fluidity to this Barca attack. This has resulted in Messi moving into the centre of the attack thus making Barca even harder to beat.
For Arsenal, we have come a long way from the last time we met Barcelona. We have a more complete attack, a better if inexperienced defence and a better midfield combination.Though we have capitulated this season to weaker teams, we also have shown we can realise our potential when we beat Chelsea 3-1. We have reached a cup final after a long time and we're on the verge of a quarter final spot in the FA cup. Not to mention that we are the only team left to challenge Man United in what is becoming a two horse title race.
But the most important of them all, we have a fuller squad this time round and we're near full strength as compared to last season when we had no van Persie, no Fabregas, no Arshavin, no Ramsey, no Song, and no decent centre back(remember we had Gallas back then, and he was also out). Add to that Nasri and Walcott were not half of what they are now, and the emergence of Jack Wilshere, Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny and the re emergence of Johan Djourou, we have made big strides. Barca may not find us easy to play against this time round.
My one big wish is that the game is not disturbed by refereeing mistake(s) or unsporting behaviour. Of course, my biggest wish being an Arsenal win without any injuries!
Prediction:
Let's wait and see.....(though I am feeling a lot more positive this time)
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
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