Kevin Whitcher
It was a Mickey Thomas moment. Going through on goal with just the keeper to beat, the self-styled world’s greatest striker demonstrated the delicate technique, the featherlight touch, that makes him so feared by opposition defenders. Almost. With a first touch reminiscent of Julio Baptista, Nicklas Bendtner ensured that Arsenal’s chance of pulling off a shock result in the Nou Camp was gone.
In fairness, anything but Barcelona progress would have been a travesty. The visitors managed no attempts on goal in 90 minutes, either on or off target, and spent the match chasing shadows. Critically, their pass completion was shockingly low, their possession of the ball minimal. Statistically Jose Mourinho’s Inter may have posted similar figures on their visit to Barca last season, but they defended much better. There were no backheels on the edge of their own box. If Denilson had done that he would have been crucified by Arsenal supporters. Why should it be any different for Cesc Fabregas? It was suicidal, and rightly punished. I hope that is the last we see of showboating in this Arsenal team, at least in their own half when a game is not secured.
Only Robin van Persie honestly knows if he heard the referee’s whistle that led to his second yellow card. Would his staying on the pitch have made any difference to the result? I doubt it. Barcelona were just so much better than the Gunners that qualification for Arsene Wenger’s men would have required a fluke. As it was, it took a Barcelona player to score for them.
One moment kind of summed up the tip tap football of recent seasons, the non-penetrative pretty stuff that wins plaudits but no silverware. With second half injury time running out fast, Arsenal were awarded a free kick near the halfway line. Instead of launching it Hail Mary style into the Barca box with everyone including Manuel Almunia inside it, the ball was played short before the players even had the chance to get up the field. Wenger himself was screaming for them to take a Howard Wilkinson style free kick, but he’s trained these players too well in his own way. Possession is everything, we do not play percentage balls.
Only possession seemed minimal in this game, even with 11 men on the field. Barcelona were just so much better than Arsenal at their own game. Exit in this tie is no disgrace, and if you want to moan about injustice, then all I can say is that Chelsea had a far better reason to complain in 2009. Ultimately, Arsenal have paid the price of trying to win their group whilst resting players for the away matches in Donetsk and Braga. They left themselves as hostages to fortune when UEFA made the draw for the first knockout round.
Ultimately, Arsene Wenger has been knocked out by a team that play football at a level he aspires to, although he does not possess enough players capable of reaching it. He is obsessed by winning this competition, and time will tell whether Fabregas was risked in this game when he would have been better recuperating. The injury to Szczesny is certainly a worry, given Almunia’s liability to do something crazy that will drop points when you least need him to.
Special mentions for Jack Wilshere and Johan Djourou, both of whom played with heart and commitment. If Arsenal could match Barcelona’s workrate when they do not have the ball, the domestic title would be as good as theirs already. In fact European elimination now could work to their favour in that regard. Four matches in the space of 30 days at the business end of the season on top of their Premier League fixtures could prove too much of a burden for a team going for the title.
It will be interesting to see how Wenger treats the FA Cup on Saturday. One suspects that the players that started the game last night will have had a lot taken out of them. And yet a shadow team that cannot beat Leeds or Orient at the first time of asking is not going to achieve a great deal at Old Trafford. One thing is certain. Without any European distractions, an extended FA Cup run is not going to do the club’s title prospects much harm, so they might be as well to go for it at the weekend, with no further match until seven days later.
Arsenal could have got lucky in Barcelona. It happens in cup games. Bendtner could have nicked it. Margins between progress and exit can be very slim. But in this instance there was a huge gulf, and one can only sit back and admire the mix of skill and work ethic displayed by players who are on very good wages but do not lack the hunger to compete as if their lives depended on it. And that is why they are currently the best team in world football.
