Arsenal vs. Barcelona: Five Reasons Arsenal Can Defeat Barcelona
On Wednesday, Arsenal take on Barcelona in an important Round of 16 UEFA Champions League. Both teams will be desperate to qualify for the quarterfinals. The first leg will be played at the Emirates.
Last season the teams met in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Arsenal drew 2-2 with Barcelona at Emirates but were overpowered by the Catalan giants 4-1 at Camp Nou.
Arsenal will be looking to avenge their defeat from last season and will want to silence their critics.
As an Arsenal fan I always believe in my team and always look at the positives. So in this article I am focusing only on the positives of the Gunners and am listing the reasons why Arsenal are going to beat Barcelona in the first leg.
Desire To Win and Prove a Point To Critics
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Last season Arsenal were beaten 4-1 by Barcelona in the second leg. Barcelona are a great team, possibly the greatest of the present era, but the 4-1 scoreline was extremely flattering.
Why? Because the team that Arsenal fielded that day were missing at least 7 first team starters.
This season Arsenal are desperate to prove that they have the quality to beat sides like Barcelona especially after last years humiliation. Arsenal will want to show all their critics that last year was just a fluke and they have the quality to beat Barcelona.
Even the players look eager to beat Barcelona. Emmanuel Eboue had come out and stated that Arsenal wanted to prove a point by beating Barcelona. Even Arsene Wenger has stated Arsenal’s desire to beat the Catalan giants.
Arsenal this time around seem to have the confidence to beat Barcelona. When Arsenal take on Barcelona this time, this can be a huge asset in their favor and can help them conquer Barcelona.
Such passion and determination will be key to Arsenal’s success. If they can convert this passion and will into substance on the pitch they can upstage Barcelona and pull off a famous win.
An Injury Free and Firing Squad
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Both Alex Song and Johan Djourou are likely to feature against and it right now it is almost a certainty that the two will start against Barcelona.
That would leave Arsenal with an injury free squad except for Samir Nasri. The only other absentee is Bacary Sagna, who is suspended for the clash.
This is a stark contrast to what happened last season. In the first leg last season Arsenal missed Van Persie, William Gallas and Andrei Arshavin.
In the second leg Arsenal missed Sol Campbell, Fabregas, Song and the above mentioned 3 players.
This season Arsenal’s injury woes have been comparatively less and right now Arsenal are playing some great football with an injury free squad. They have their leaders and main players back in the squad.
Arsenal fully fit lineup has been nothing sort of clinical this season and are both ruthless and a treat to watch.
They have scored plenty of goals and the likes of Walcott, Fabregas and Van Persie are forming an extremely impressive attacking threat. Last season Arsenal lacked this kind of quality upfront.
Ever since Van Persie’s return Arsenal have scored 18 goals in 6 matches in the Premier League which shows how the Arsenal squad are at their peak right now.
This squad has shown in the last couple of weeks that they can beat the top teams and they will be itching to prove the same with Barcelona.
Solid and Dependable Defense
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Arsenal might have conceded 4 goals against Newcastle on Saturday but that was in the absence of Johan Djourou and with a player less.
Arsenal defense in the presence of Johan Djourou has been rock solid at the back. In 2011 Arsenal have conceded only 1 goal in over 500 minutes when Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou have partnered at the back.
Even that one goal was offside.
This means that when both Koscielny and Djourou start in the heart of Arsenal’s defense, Arsenal are not defensively week and are solid at the back.
With Barcelona’s attacking might Arsenal will need a solid and assured back line and Djourou offers stability to the Arsenal team. Djourou brings out the best in Koscielny and makes the entire defense perform much better.
Arsenal have shown that they have the defensive stability to go along with their beautiful game and come Wednesday this may prove to be extremely vital.
Strong Substitutes That Can Make an Impact
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Last season Arsenal were trailing 2-0 after 60 minutes but managed to make 2-2. What made the difference?
The introduction of Theo Walcott.
Substitutes always play crucial role in deciding the fate of the game. When the defense is getting weary fresh substitutes can go a long way in finding the holes in the defense and can help the team exploit those weaknesses.
Even when things are going completely against you substitutes offer you chance to change the tactics.
But Barcelona seem to lack any quality substitutes. Their starting lineup maybe fantastic and may feature some of the best players in the world but they are a bit shallow in the bench.
Arsenal on the other hand have the likes of Chamakh, Bendtner and Rosicky, players who have the quality to change the direction of the game.
The likes of Chamakh and Bendtner also offers Arsenal a chance to wary their tactics and gives them a different dimension upfront.
Home Advantage and Good Form
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Before I start this slide I accept that Arsenal have lost 3 home games already this season.
Despite that I feel Arsenal home form will be key. Arsenal’s 3 home losses this season have come in the Premier League and they are undefeated in every other competition. They have won all their home forms except 2, both which were draws.
More importantly they have won all their 3 matches in the Champions League with relative ease scoring 14 goals along the way.
So this means that Arsenal’s home form is not great but solid.
Also with the home crowd cheering them on Arsenal will look to make full use of their home advantage.
They have not lost a home game since the defeat against Tottenham back in November.
Also right now Arsenal are in great form. Although they might have thrown away a 4 goal lead against Newcastle, this team looks in great form and are playing some brilliant football.
They have lost just once since their defeat to Manchester United.
The likes of Van Persie, Walcott are scoring for fun right now. Also Walcott wrecked havoc in the Barcelona defense last season and with him most probably starting Arsenal can attack and create goal scoring opportunities.
