Cesc, in a Beckenbauer-esque style, remained injured aproximately seven minutes in the pitch.
[Photo: AP via Football.co.uk]
Today's match -as the captain said, "It has been an amazing experience and I will remember it for the rest of my life"- was one of those that stay not just in the memory but in the heart of supporters neutrals and rivals. Trying to put together the emotions that arose in each side of the contest is barely rubbish. We could watch how the best team in the globe brushed aside the best-playing team in England for nearly forty five-minutes, then gain two precious goals to later concede another two in a special cameo by Cesc Fábregas. Whether the fact that he was the hero of the night is unquestionable as well as his commitment, he injured himself when taking the penalty.
Wenger described the game as a "storm" and if we come to think a bout it, it was a non-sensical in the eyes of Goonners. If the Gunners' season has been epitomised by games such as Bolton, Liege, Porto, Everton and Stoke, this one seems to be on that batch as they struggled and managed to draw against probably one of the best team performances in the last twenty years, and probably in the course of the history of the sport.
On a more personal basis I've seen Barça play under Guardiola's regime and never, have witnessed such impressive amount of play and talent as displayed as in the first twenty minutes; even Guardiola himself accepted it as well. His Frenchman opposite stated one of the reasons of the pressure by the Spaniards overwhelming superiority
Reports from Marca highlighted the high-spirited efforts of the Catalonians. In the continent some opinions favoured the visitors. In the isle reports favoured the spirit of the Gunners as Guardian's Richard Williams piece. David Young, an authorised voice in this subject, had the similar shock effect of watching such a massive game.
Dale Johnson and Kevin Palmer from Soccernet, offered another view.
The worst mistake that any team could make is winning mentally as Matthew Weiner sums it up: "Don’t count Arsenal out of this quite yet. After all, whether they admit it or not, that seemed to be the mistake Barcelona made tonight at 2-0."
Zlatan lobs past Almunia.
[Photo: Empics via Soccernet Photo Gallery]
To note there were some interesting topics in the pre-match comments on Arseblog. Guardiola's post-match comments were simply on the verge of the ridiculous since probably are in the tone of another buying bid. Obviously the idiocy of Mexico's captain appears to have no end.
Henry's return was really emotional as he received the standing ovation of the whole Emirates.
Theo scores the first for the home team.
[Photo: Mirror Football]
If there was any explanation of how the Londoners went through the first twenty minutes of the match without conceding it was probably more in the realms of faith rather than in the actual fact. An in-game comment from Arsenal Opinion's Twitter summarised the thing pretty well. The industrious effort that saw the Spanish team moving the ball away from the Gunners in a swaying and dazzling motion masked all types of response from the home team. From the very first minute Vermaelen got himself in the way of a cross and in the following minute, Almunia saved from blank point an effort by Busquets. If the storm was just beginning the wave of precise attacks led by Xavi began.
This different type of opposition that Arsenal have ever faced -and I dare to say an English team- produced some type of nearly perfect football that was only shadowed by the fact that within the "storm" they could not grab a lead. At least another four clear chances proved Almunia's "worth". All Arsenal's defensive deficiencies of the last couple of years were exploited by the football machinery of Guardiola. Somehow, as it had been suggested before, the Londoners survived the siege and gave signs when Nasri took a hissing shot at Valdés' far post. The substitution of Arshavin, at the 27th minute, marked the exact point in which the Catalonians ended their siege.
As the Barça tsunami went down the Gunners were able to regroup just to find another set of dangerous approaches, mainly by Zlatan. Bendtner shot at woodwork on a disallowed chance; the torrid beginning was being helped by the injury of Gallas as a sombre panorama laid on the home team. Even when the Londoners withstanded the ferocious rampage, the worst was yet to come in the following half. The only one who was able to show some deft passing was Samir Nasri, who provided the game needed for the lone striker at the other end. Despite the French man's effort, the left hand side of the Gunners pitch was a one-way lane to Daniel Aloes.
Cesc squares things from the spot.
[Photo: Getty Images via Soccernet Photo Gallery]
When Cesc got booked, everything took another dimension and the consensus in the stands was for him to give the last drop of blood but the Swedish forward had another intention. In the first minute Barça scored taken off guard the entire defence. Vermaelen was rambling and the only defender who was able to neutralise lost precious time in running diagonally to catch the striker. Almunia's command masked his entire previous performance and the Gunners were one-nil down. In the following minutes some players did not lost faith: Bendtner headed form a cross by Song and obviously the Spanish retaliated with Xavi.
With nearly thirty minutes to end the match the Catalonians made the gap wider as Zlatan again punished Almunia; whether this time it was more of the centre-halves fault, still the fact that Almunia failed to organise his defence seemed utterly rubbish. Six minutes later, with all hopes over the board, Wenger recurred to the velocist Walcott who in two minutes ran an absolutely fabulous riot. In one of those escapades, the Gunners made some quick passes as it was Bendtner who set Walcott who finished with a low shot. The prospect of another exciting, heart-breaking finish was coming in the nearest future.
With the atmosphere at its maximum the Gunners relied on speed and possession to gain more in their momentum. For the following fifteen minutes Barcelona dissappeared from the game and that brutal behemoth that applied such a tremendous pressure with beautiful game was diminished to shreds. Again the Londoners were at fight with all their strength, and even Cesc nearly scored from a free-kick. But with five minutes in the clock, the Emirates saw the genius of the home grown boy rise as another Arsenal Legend.
Puyol tripped Cesc after a Bendtner pass and the referee did not hesitate to mark the penalty. Cesc, for the joy of half north London, converted. The stadium burst into paradisiac emotion as Arsenal, after being two goals down overcame the deficit and matched the best team in the world. Cesc injured himself in his last cameo of the season when hitting the ball. The Beckenbauerish Cesc remained on pitch and nearly scored another with three minutes added. The tireless captain ran along the pitch injured. Even if his absence will be crucial, the kid left everything and became one of those immortal figures that will be forever remembered.
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