Champions League; THAT Barcelona Game. Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1

Champions League round of 16 knockout tie . Arsenal rally from 1-0 down to defeat Barcelona 2-1. The second leg tie coming up in three weeks, for now though, it's apt to savour an intense display of the beautiful game

Wembley to host 2010/11 Champions League Final

The game at the Emirates;

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Was a beautiful poem.....The fact that the opening goal came from sleek combination play started off by Andrei Arshavin with a ‘reluctant’ pass on the tumble- that only he can pull off often times to the frustration of fans when incomplete as at times is the case ; quick feet and sharp mind in symphony for a split second when Clichy finally delivers that pass that we wish he could time and again- a delicate, pinpoint, telepathic through ball that horizontally dinked over the top, on a slight trajectory, splitting open the opposition defense as it wafted through on the wrong foot side; taken into stride by Van Persie- running on the blindside to make use of a tiny pocket of space behind the Barcelona back four; It’s a tight space. The angle narrow even for the Dutch striker with a famed left foot.......WHAM! And the scoreboard flips: Arsenal 0 Barcelona 1 >>>Arsenal1 Barcelona 1. Game on!

Was a Symphony.....As soon as the draw was made two months ago, attention shifted to Arsenal player No. 4, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. The conductor of the Arsenal orchestra; the puppeteer behind the Emirates stadium show that makes Arsenal the club with the highest match day revenues anywhere in the football world; the supplier of ammunition to the gunner firepower; the leader of the team as Wenger tells us. And for Barcelona, the one who got away.

When Fabregas enjoys the game, Arsenal is unstoppable so they say.

Facing Pep Gurdiola’s Xavi- Messi- Iniesta powered Barcelona, Arsenal would need inspiration from their captain to get anything out of the match against a side fancied to be the best football team ever: The play leading to the winning goal scored by Anderi Arshavin was initiated by a characteristic long ball by the 23yr old, making use of a dart into space on by Nasri. Impressive, but precisely what has come to be expected of the Catalan who joined Arsenal at only 16.

60'However, the events around the 60th minute were more telling: With Arsenal’s pressure -building up through out the second half- beginning to chip way a chink on the Barcelona armour, Arsenal wins a free kick some 30 yards out. Cesc stands over the ball and though the distance from the Barcelona goal is significant, Arsenal fans are hoping that in the free kick lies a chance to change the score line and change the course of history. At this stage of the game with Barcelona leading by a David Villa 26^th minute strike, the Spanish champions were on course to be the first European side to inflict Arsene Wenger’s side defeat at their 60,000 capacity state-of-the art stadium.

Dissapoint? He didn’t. The ball fell meekly into the arms of Valdez in the Barcelona goal, but the delivery was perfect. With Arsenal smelling blood, El- Captain took the opportunity presented by the free kick to inflict damage on Barcelona not with the ball, but by recruiting the 12^th man onto the pitch when he rallied the stadium to ante the noise levels. With the crowd roaring, with a wave, he urged his teammates not to let themselves and the 60,000 crowd in attendance let it slip by. With resilience, concentration, hard work and playing without fear, they responded.

Was playing without fear.....It was a match of the sweetest among the sweet 16 of European soccer. Two sides intent on defense through attack, possession play to pry the opposition open and precise passing to make the former two possible. In Barcelona and Arsenal, all expected a fest of beautiful football- the 21^st Century version of Total football. Yet, Arsene Wenger had been arguing his side for something else; to play without fear. In those first 20 minutes of the match when Arsenal had the better of the exchanges, thereafter in sporadic sustained bursts in the first 45 and in crescendo fashion in the second half, Arsene’s philosophy crystallized for millions glued to the proceedings of one of football’s front-row shows this year.

It was seen in Koscienly’s commanding of the situation at the back; in Jack Wilshere’s purring engine and ball play; Eboue’s confidence to overlap; Szcensy’s reading of the game and masterful application of frame, Nasri’s and Cesc’s versatility and Robin Van Persie and Arshavin’s genius. To play without fear: teamwork, trust in one’s abilities, cohesion and concentration in a pot to boil.

Was Wengernomics proved once again.....at the biggest stage so far at the first knock-out stage proper in Europe’s premier football competition. Who can fault the quality of Wenger’s changes late in the second half? All this wealth in talent after failing to break the bank as widely thought to be the only way to skin the cat? I rest my case.

It is said when Cesc Fabregas enjoys himself, the team’s countenance changes, victroy is almost certain. Backed by the impressive assist statistics in both the Premier League and Champions League attests to the Spaniard’s prowess.