Richard Buxcey
Let’s be frank here. Barcelona were so good they were even able to score at the wrong end and still progress comfortably. It’s not often a team manages to score without registering a single effort on goal, let alone on target, but once again Arsenal managed the seemingly impossible as we did at St James’s when spunking a four goal lead up the wall.
Yes, we once again fell foul of a dodgy ref who was just as star struck by the 100,000 strong Catalan crowd as Cesc appeared to be, but this will never be a valid excuse for the shamefully limp performance from Arsenal on Tuesday night.
As with the Carling Cup final, the big occasion got to the players and the manager once more and now we have to suffer the slings and arrows thrown from the muggy Spuds fans whose team made it to the last eight. There is no disgrace in being beaten by the best team in the world, but the manner of the defeat is hard to take considering we are the ones usually running rings around the opponents. The gap in class was so wide it was cringeworthy at times. Once again only Jack stood out as all around him, including Cesc, froze like startled rabbits in the Barca headlamps. All this said with a few minutes remaining, and the chance to pull off the all time smash ‘n’ grab was within grasp for the self-confessed “best striker in Europe”.
But as the norm, Bendtner’s first touch was that a new-born elephant on an ice lake… hopeless.
Trying to remain positive for today’s outing at Manure, but hope is once and again fading that the cleaning staff at Ashburton will need a new supply of silver polish for the summer months. Wenger will probably throw all his remaining eggs into the Premier League basket and field a weaker side at Old Trafford. Sir Red Nose will almost certainly play his strongest available team, because victory gives the winner a psychological edge for the season’s remainder.
At least the boys should be keen to play at Old Trafford, given as we never got to play on Tuesday…
