I am sitting in a bar near the main railway station in Valencia. Local time is just after 12. Flew from Stansted early this morning. As cheap a way as I can get to the game and spend a couple of nights in Barcelona. As the transit from the airport to the city centre was seamless and brief (eleven stops on the metro), I asked in the station if there was an earlier train that I could take to Barca, being booked on one shortly after 2. They are full until after 5, I was told. Some Gooners at a neighbouring counter looked like they had just received similar news, although they probably weren’t told ‘You are lucky’ as I was when the cashier saw my booking notification that means I have over two hours to kill. I suspect those who turned up without a reservation hoping to get on a train are weighing up the expense of a hire car versus a taxi. The train journey to Barcelona takes three and a half hours.

I’ve just finished lunch. Menu del dia was 7 euros, with a beer thrown in. With my lack of Spanish, the first course was a complete guess and turned out to be a substantial plate of something akin to chicken chow mein, although with more substantial noodles. Calamares and chips followed, although by the end of it, I was struggling to finish. At least I won’t feel peckish until after the game this evening. At one point a woman in her 20s with a tight fitting turquoise top arrived to order a whole chicken to take out. If Lionel Messi’s football is mesmerising, they are going to have to come up with some new adjectives to describe this particular lady’s physique. Anyway, before I turn 100% into into a perverted Myles Palmer, some scene setting of a different type with regard to this evening’s match.

Barca’s main fear is, predictably, Theo Walcott’s pace. I think there is an acceptance that Arsenal will create chances, unless Pep Guardiola changes their tactics and they play a deeper line than in the first leg. There is talk of Marquez partnering Milito at the back, but I suspect they will go with Yaya Toure. The return of Abidal at left back will strenghthen Barca in the area that Theo will be looking to exploit. This of course assumes that Wenger even starts Theo. A bit of me thinks that if Rosicky is fit, then he and Eboue might flank Bendtner until 65 minutes. Arsenal’s best hope of progress is almost certainly a low scoring game, so I believe the manager will try and keep things tight for as long as he can, and then throw the kitchen sink at the opposition when he belives they might be tiring.

However, Barca are a very different proposition on their home turf, and it is difficult to see them failing to score more often than Arsenal. I read in the paper on the way out here that when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Ruben Kazan, they had 26 shots to their opponents’ three. It was a freak result that in no way reflected the balance of play. You could make that argument about the game back in north London last Wednesday night.

I have only ever seen one game at the Nou Camp, the European Cup Final in 1989 (Milan beat Steaua Bucharest 4-0). I didn’t go in 1999 when Arsenal were last here, so I was determined to make this one. It is a magnificent venue and potentially a highly intimidating one. What Arsenal need to do this evening is get some more possession of the ball than they managed last week. Without Fabregas, Arshavin, Song and Van Persie, that’s easier said than done.

I am sure most Gooners have travelled in hope rather than expectation. The odds against Arsenal qualifying are large, their absentees more significant than Barca’s, who have a much deeper squad. However, they know their task and there is little complication. Win the game.

Football maintains the ability to shock and surprise. Perhaps this evening will provide further evidence of this, but I wouldn’t put much money on it. I hope that, come the morning, my pessimism looks foolish. Wenger believes in his players, now they have to believe in themselves. The word ‘respect’ features on the sleeves of the kits in this competition. Let’s hope the Gunners don’t take it as literally as they did last week.