UEFA Champions League

A game which was, touted to be one of the most exciting clashes of the year, lived up to its expectations when two of the most entertaining teams(read attacking) faced off, fighting for a berth in the  last eight of the prestigious UEFA Champions League.

With the first-leg of the tie being played at Emirates, which incidentally is Arsenal’s home ground still FCB were the team heavily tipped to win the tie.  The Catalonian Fan’s were overconfident about the tie.  And why not, when Arsenal have always been their bogey team. The complacency and over-confidence passed on to the team.

The game got off to a blistering start, with the Spanish champions firing on all cylinders and dominating the game. The best player in the world for the last two year’s showed just why he is the best player, when he came close to scoring, in a deja-vu of the return of the last leg at the Camp Nou but fortunately for the home team it missed the post by some centimeters.

Barcelona were seen dominating the game in the first half though, Arsenal never lost their cutting edge and the predatory instinct coming close to scoring, but poor finishing didn’t let the goals come in.

It was a game of the finest footballing technique vs. a young team unwilling to give up no matter what, Arsenal showed why they could beat any team on their day, even if it meant turning a goal deficit against the best team in the world and Wenger’s substitutions just did that. The additions of Nicklas Bendtner and Andrey Arshavin  in place of the quickly fading Alex Song and Theo Walcott, showed the intent that this was a team not willing to end the game with a 1-0 deficit.

Arsenal’s dramatic comeback may have boosted the their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals, but they still have a long way to go before being kept on equal footing with the Catalans but it they keep playing the way they are,  Arsenal are not that far away.

Last night’s victory will also boost The Gunners title aspirations as they trail United by four point’s, The win against Barcelona may just tip the title in their favor as all the big teams have to come to the Emirates in the latter half of the season, Arsenal’s confidence will be sky-high having beaten the best team in the world at home, They can beat any team in the world. And the way it looks, Arsenal is not too far away from displacing Barcelona as the best team in the world.

Tags: Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Emirates, Football, UEFA Champions League