>Magical Messi

>I knew when i saw the draw up for the Champions League quarter-finals that this game would be special. Both very technical side that plays very fluid and beautiful football. The first leg was very entertaining as Barcelona completely dominated Arsenal from start to finish. Arsenal were definitely lucky to end the game with a 2-2 draw. And the second leg didn’t fail to produce the same type of magic that the first leg had…..

There was one and only player that can be counted on to bring down a resilient Arsenal side, and it was none other than “World Best Player” Lionel Messi. He completely ran the show and didn’t let up the whole night, the Arsenal players could only chase his shadows as Messi haunted the the defenses. Arsenal may have taken the lead through Nicklas Bendtner, but that didn’t stop Messi from producing one of his best performances on the big stage. Scoring four goals during the night to send the cup holders to the semi inals of the Champions League. This consolidated the running of him becoming world best player. He may be smaller compared to the likes of Ronaldo, Torres or Rooney, but he has shown that his trickery and sharp body turns were too much for the Arsenal defenders to bear.  If he does ever leave the Camp Nou, it will definitely be exciting to see him play in the English Premier League where his skills will be tested week in, week out, in one of the top league’s in the world.

Arsenal just didn’t showed up for this game as they were completely mauled by the magician Messi. Even Wenger admitted that his side were completely outplayed by the “world best player”. Which was evident as Arsenal gave little resistant to a very strong Barcelona side. I think Arsenal just laid low and just watch Messi preform his magic, Arsenal didn’t have the player that could mark a player like Messi, so that was the reason for their failure. This years World Cup will definitely be a good one with world class players on top of their form. I will be looking forward to seeing how Messi will do at the world cup in South Africa.

Signing Off
Prosoc8

>Lucky Arsenal escapes with a draw!

>

Arsenal has always been known for their beautiful short passing, fluid football. It was going to be an exciting encounter when Barcelona visited Arsenal at the Emirates. But i have never in my lifetime seen Arsenal cornered like this at their own home turf. Barcelona played magnificent football, it wasn’t Messi that was destroying Arsenal,  it was the whole Barcelona team and how they outplayed Arsenal during the first half, with the amount of chances, they could have put the tie to bed even before the half hour mark. If people wanted to see how beautiful football should be played, watch this highlight.
It was definitely a shock how the scoreline stayed goalless after Barcelona pretty much bombarded the Arsenal goal, lucky Almunia recovered from that Birmingham blunder to put up a inspiring performance to keep the home side in the match. But Barcelona didn’t even give Arsenal a chance to breathe in the second half as they scored right after the kickoff. Arsenal’s defense was split right open and Almunia rushed out but could only watch as Ibrahimovic looped it over his head and into the net. Ibrahimovic then scored another goal 13 minutes later from the same position to put Barcelona 2-0 up.

From the on, i thought Arsenal’s game is over as Barcelona was in total control, but i was wrong and i admire how the character of the young Arsenal side is starting to mature. It was good to see that they managed to pull themselves together and never gave up. It was definitely encouraging to see! Theo Walcott managed to pull back one goal which i felt was fortunate, even so, Arsenal did deserve a goal for the persistence. As the game started to come to an end, Farbregas shouldered the hopes and dreams of the Arsenal fans to put give Arsenal the equalizer from the penalty awarded. It was a shock to how Arsenal manage to come back after being pushed around the first half. It may not be as close to the Liverpool vs Ac Milan Champions League final comeback, but it was definitely a great comeback from the young gunners against a quality side. Injuries and suspensions to both sides is going to make the 2nd leg at the Nou Camp a very entertaining match to look forward to. I hope the match will just as entertaining as this one!

Signing off
Prosoc8