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CL: Arsenal v Barcelona - 23/02/16, 19:45

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Juan Matas Beard

Pronouns: dat, guy 🫶
Trusted ⭐

Country: England
Are we looking at the same picture? :lol:
Cb7b6EwW0AIRgrF.jpg


Where the hell did Messi come from? :eek:
 

Coolin

Doesn't appreciate the mighty Nacho
Messi was Monreal's man. But he leaves him to try and tackle Neymar. He's partially at blame for the goal but he wasn't helped by Mertesacker's slide or Coquelin failing to track back.
 

willow2u

Member
im getting a bit sick of the manager out routine because he can set up a team this way or tactics or whatever the players seem to get away with it ffs on average around 80 grand a week and its down to the manager ,come on your a professional you know how to play if its just a case of the manager controlling autobots then you wouldnt need superstars every one goes out with the managers pre game plan and wins even us mortals playing sunday league can read the game and adjust their game
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
im getting a bit sick of the manager out routine because he can set up a team this way or tactics or whatever the players seem to get away with it ffs on average around 80 grand a week and its down to the manager ,come on your a professional you know how to play if its just a case of the manager controlling autobots then you wouldnt need superstars every one goes out with the managers pre game plan and wins even us mortals playing sunday league can read the game and adjust their game
???
 

VancouverCanuck

Well-Known Member

Country: Canada
In a vacuum losing last night was really bad but in that first 70 minutes I don't think I've seen a team outplay Barca in years. We should be proud off the team, put in an incredible effort. Can take heart from that.
I don't consider us outplaying them. Let's face. We parked the bus and hope to nick a goal at the other end. Same strategy as many inferior teams use against us.

However, I must say Wenger had the overall tactics spot on. If Ox only had his composure in front of goal, the result and analysis after the match might have been very different.
 

Coolin

Doesn't appreciate the mighty Nacho
I don't think we parked the bus at all. In the opening minutes we were really at them. It was only after Barca grew into the game that they pushed us back. Mainly due to the fact that their quality in possession meant we struggled to get hold of the ball, but no way did we set up just to stifle them.
 

GunnerShy

Well-Known Member

Winstar

Member
Thought this article summed up our night pretty well.
http://www.espnfc.com/club/arsenal/...tration-laid-bare-as-arsenal-suffer-barcelona
I agree that Özil/Sanchez were not at their blazing best but I could see their frustration. The case is simple - every BIG team out there is a combination of 8-9 world class players at least plus 3-4 above average players in a support role.
Arsenal for too long has tried to win stuff using 10-11 above average players and the past season with just 3-4 world class players. Unfortunately, inspite of the romance, this just doesnt work in modern football. We simply cant be a club where "potential" either doesnt fructify or leaves us when it turns to world class talent.
 

Winstar

Member
And as I watch the match again and again I do believe we played quite well against a fully fit Barcelona. Its amazing that we stood up to them so well. Really proud!
It was just that slight lack of quality that was missing from us which proved the difference.
 

Enfield

Established Member
I think Özil and Sanchez are getting away too much flak. TBF they ran themselves into the ground as did Rambo and Giroud but when everyone around you cant keep a hold of the ball or make simple passes it must get frustrating and you then start to overcompensate.

How many times did Sanchez gallop back inside his own half and win back the ball, how many times did Le Coq try a 50 yard hollywood pass and fail miserably, how many times did Giroud fail to make a simple pass.
The ox was through on goal after a few minutes and didn't even shoot, then through on a spill in the box and couldn't finish.

It was games like this where we badly lacked Jack and Santi. We also should be grateful that Welbeck is back, holds it up like Giroud and moves like Theo.

Finally Cech did well and next summer I want at least one more player who will get us 12/15 points in the league. If its not someone who excites Özil and Alexis then I aint interested.
 

Penn_

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
I guess it was because Walcott is in such poor form but given our game plan and that Wenger expected the game to open up after 70 minutes it’s strange we didn’t save Giroud for that period just like we did against Bayern.
 

General

Established Member
Walcott would've buried that Ox chance or at least forced a solid save. Wenger made the changes too late when there were signs earlier that we were starting to lose our shape and discipline. To be honest he wasn't helped by the timing of the Ox injury and the fact that Barca scored from no where just as Welbeck was about to come on.
 

Balance is key

Well-Known Member
And as I watch the match again and again I do believe we played quite well against a fully fit Barcelona. Its amazing that we stood up to them so well. Really proud!
It was just that slight lack of quality that was missing from us which proved the difference.

Our entire team was knackered after the first 45 - we had been running around after the ball Just like we usually do to poor teams, Barcelona did to us - Barcelona is likely even sad that they won by two - would have been easier for them to sell their home-match if there still was any doubt about who would go through.
 

Jasard

Forum Issue Troubleshooter
Moderator

Country: England
Been reading a lot of reactions about this game across various sites. Why are Arsenal fans so entitled now that losing 2-0 to Barca is suddenly unacceptable and even shameful? We stopped them having a shot on goal in the entire first half which no team has done in the CL for years. We lost because of a couple of sloppy mistakes and they are the most clinical side in history.

Be proud of the performance. Worry about out finishing sure but anyone moaning about losing to Barca after that performance needs to step away from football for a while. We made them look like an average possession-football side for an hour. 2-0 flattered them.
 

Ceballinhos

Cheating on Santi
Been reading a lot of reactions about this game across various sites. Why are Arsenal fans so entitled now that losing 2-0 to Barca is suddenly unacceptable and even shameful? We stopped them having a shot on goal in the entire first half which no team has done in the CL for years. We lost because of a couple of sloppy mistakes and they are the most clinical side in history.

Be proud of the performance. Worry about out finishing sure but anyone moaning about losing to Barca after that performance needs to step away from football for a while. We made them look like an average possession-football side for an hour. 2-0 flattered them.

Mostly because we were very bad when we had the ball except for the first 20 minutes.
That's a worry. This barcelona side wasn't THAT great. We neutralized them great. i didn't expect this from us.
But boy I was so disappointed with the technical mistakes we made.

It was a frustrating game because we were so close to win it & at the same time so far.

We lost this game alone. That's the real worry.
If we have done what we should have we wouldn't have Flamini on the pitch for instance.
If we were really serious, we wouldn't have to chose between Ox (aka 2 goals/season guy) & Campbell who was close to leave.

These 2 kinda ruined the game for us. But it's not their fault. It's the club's fault. They're nowhere near the 1st team champions league level.

It's down to a lack of ambition. We don't do anything to try to win the Champions league. It hurts to admit it but it's true. It was fine when we had no money but now we have it. There are no excuses anymore.

At the start of the season Wenger & the staff when they look at the team they have they can't possibly think they have any chance to win it.
So why do we talk so much about the importance of CL if we don't do what it's needed to win it?
 
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