Arsenal Will Face Barcelona in Champions League
The draws for the first knock-out round of Champions League took place in Zurich, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Switzerland-c3016, on Friday. Arsene Wenger’s worst nightmare came true when Arsenal drew Barcelona in their draw, which puts Arsenal under a big threat
of elimination at an early part of the tournament.
Arsenal’s woes started from the group stages, when they failed to top their group. The Gunners had a good start of their European campaign as they won all three of their opening fixtures. However, things took a U-turn when Arsenal
lost two matches in a row, against Braga and Shakhtar Donetsk. Although the team did win their last match, but it was not enough to earn them the top spot in their group. This meant that Arsenal was likely to face other teams that were on top of their groups
and were not English clubs, which included Barcelona and Real Madrid as well. In the end, it was Barcelona, once again, for Arsenal but Wenger was already expecting such a draw.
Arsene Wenger did not have any complaints regarding the draw and he termed the next round as ‘difficult but not impossible’. Wenger said that Schalke could have been a better team to face in the next round, because they had less
experience in the Champions League. However, the manager said that the advantage of this draw is that his team would be ready and alert to face the Barcelona challenge.
Wenger also said that he was not thinking about revenge for last year, but Arsenal has to win and qualify for the next round by knocking-out Barcelona. Wenger appreciated the recent form of Barcelona but claimed that the Catalans
would also be wary of getting Arsenal for their next round. Arsenal’s boss said that his team has improved a lot from last season and they can threaten Barcelona, which would be worrying for his rival, Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal and Barcelona have developed a kind of rivalry in the last few seasons. In this rivalry, Arsenal has been on the losing side on three different occasions. Arsenal lost against Barcelona in the Champions League final, in
2006. Last season, Barcelona knocked-out Arsenal in the quarter-finals after an overwhelming victory at their fortress, Camp Nou. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296, the Barcelona forward, scored four goals against the Gunners, in a one-sided display of football. Now, Barcelona
looks threatening, once again, to inflict damage to Arsenal, after remaining unbeaten in their group stages.
Despite the success stories against Arsenal, Pep Guardiola is taking this matter very seriously. Guardiola said that Arsenal would be threatening like all other clubs in Europe, but he would be a little more composed once he learned
about the opponent’s weak points after watching some videos. The Catalans’ boss said that Arsenal is a much better side, compared to last year, as they have http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marouane-Chamakh-c24294 in their squad while Cesc Fabregas would also return against his former
club. Guardiola said that Arsenal was a perfect team from English football who follow a similar style as Barcelona. Therefore, the Gunners are threatening for any defence with their ability to score goals.
There is no doubt that Arsenal has got the worst in the draws, as they would be facing the favourites of Europe. The real problem is that Arsene Wenger knows only one style of play, i.e. passing-style football. However, Barcelona
also follows the same style, but unlike Arsenal, they have perfected their style to the utmost level.
In order to win this year, it is very important for Wenger to change things around. Otherwise, Barcelona will overrun Arsenal once again, because as Arsenal has improved this season, Barcelona has also made significant improvements.
The current Barcelona team might be their strongest under Pep Guardiola and they have found their best form in recent weeks as well. In the last seven matches, the Catalans have scored 31 goals, which is a sign that would certainly give a little hope to young
Gunners at the moment.
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