Barcelona Vs Arsenal Part 2: Another UEFA Football Extravaganza Awaits

Despite the renewed confidence and bravado being espoused by supporters of the Gunners, yesterday's UEFA Champion's league quarterfinal draw in London exemplifies the importance of a simple but crucial rule in football. You have to play 90 minutes of football to ensure victory.

Arsenal's miraculous comeback was made possible not only by the pace, determination and heroics of Theo Walcott but also, and perhaps more so, by the overconfidence and complacency of Barcelona.

The Catalan club dominated throughout the first 60 minutes of the game and inevitably took control in the early stages of the second half with two superb goals by a rejuvenated Ibrahimovic.

The Swede lofted a cheeky shot over the head of the advancing Almunia who had up to that moment in the game enjoyed super human performance to keep Barca from opening the flood gates.

But at the start of the scond half of the game, Barcelona stepped up their game a notch and put on a display of beautiful football replete with their trade mark possession game with fluid passing, in-sync give and gos and show boating back heels and flicks. They proved why they are the defending champions and it was inevitable and only justice that their hard work paid off.

Ibra's second goal was just as brilliant as the first and proved to all his nay Sayers that this Barca team is not a one-man-show with Lio Messi having to put the team on his back in each and every game.

We all need to take pause however and commend both goalkeepers for what in the first 45 minutes of the game were excellent displays of goal keeping. Victor Valdez and Almunia along with stern defending by their backlines, created a force field around their goals. Had this been any other team and on any other day the scoreline would not have been so kind to the Gunners.

At half time the match stats indicated Barcelona had 12 strikes at goal to Arsenal's 1. So let us not get too caught up in the final scoreline. This was a game for Barca to lose and by allowing Arsenal back in the game, they did.

With players dropping like flies and with crucial clashes ensuing in the La Liga that may very well decide the outcome of the league, I believe Messi and company became over confident and overly cautious by not pressing home their advantage to finish off the Gunners.

Credit must be given to Arsenal as well as for a brief moment players began to hang their heads and chased after the elusive ball that was being passed around them with ease. Then on came Walcott.

With a first team position in England's World Cup side up for grabs, Theo threw caution to the wind as he deemed he had nothing to lose. Perhaps his own astute observation from the substitute bench and indeed manager Arsene Wenger's football brilliance provided a keen insight to take down the Spanish giants. Raw pace.

Carles Puyol, Maxwell, Sergio and Pique despite their ability to read the game and make match saving stops have another thing in common. They lack speed and pace that is the trademark of the English game. 

Wenger and Theo exploited this to the fullest and within minutes of gracing the field the latter had the ball in the back of the net.

This ignited the home fans and inspired the Gunners who rose to the occasion while Barca had taken their foot off the gas. Football is as much a mental game as it is a physical one.

No longer were the Barca players looking to retain possession and press forward in the manner they did earlier. Their body language indicated they saw the game as being over and allowed themselves to think pass their current opponents to their next key league clashes between Athletic Bilbao on April 3 and the crucial El Classico match up against their arch rivals and nemesis Real Madrid on April 11.

I am sure Pep Guardiola is by now fully cognisant of the key strategy that Arsene has in his arsenal for Arsenal. Not only did Walcott score but he made several runs blowing by Maxwell and Keita on the wing and was able to distribute good squares into Barcas's 18 yard box. One such pass saw a muffed chance by Bendtner that the goalkeeper and his defenders were lucky to clear off the line.

The Catalans undoubtedly have trouble in handling players with pace.

In a report on Football.co.uk Wenger is reported to have said: "He (Walcott) had a huge impact when he came on. He has qualities which can be useful on a big pitch like the Nou Camp. We can still qualify.

"We have to study how we can win the ball back. When we did that we always looked dangerous against them. We have to go for it. It would be a big achievement but we believe we can do it."

Pep I'm sure will pay much closer attention to this fact and will have to shore up his defense that will be without Puyol and Pique who are both suspended. This definitely leaves a crack in their armor for the return leg clash at the Nou Camp.

But without their best midfielders in Fabragas and Arshavin, can the EPL title contenders exploit this crack. Their woes have surely grown even greater as how do they win the ball back and keep it in order to pass to Walcott on the wing and or Bendtner up front.

Denislon and the speedy Jack Wilshere may get to start but who will be able to martial the midfield in the manner that Fabregas can.

At the end of the day, Barca has 2 key away goals, a fit squad and hopefully the return of the midfield maestro Andres Iniesta who picked up a slight hamstring strain at Real Mallorca on Saturday.

They also have quality replacements in Yaya Toure who is an excellent defensive and attacking midfielder, Eric Abidal and and Rafa Marquez in defence should be able to stand in and fill the void left by Pique and Puyol.

A defiant Arsene Wenger has said that his charges can still win it and that they will "go for it" at the camp Nou. I would not want to be in Wenger's shoes however as with injuries to key players such as Arshavin, Gallas and Fabregas, he has an uphill battle to beat Barca at home.

They will have the support of their home fans and the mercurial Messi is not the kind of player to be out of form for too long and even when he is, his average game is better than many and will still prove a key factor in Barca's charge to defend their title.

Their dominance in the first leg justifies their favorites billing. All that is needed is for them to maintain their focus and not to underestimate the Gunners who are sure to come out at the Nou Camp with all guns blazing.

If yesterday's game is a predictor of what to expect come Tuesday April 6, we should all be in for another treat and another attacking extravaganza.