Draw won’t be enough for Gunners

Arsenal’s fight back from two goals down at home to Barcelona last night was valiant but it won’t be enough to take Arsene Wenger’s side through to the last four of the Champions League.

They have just about kept themselves in the tie but the circumstances of the second leg have conspired against them.

Away

The Camp Nou is one of the hardest stadiums in the world to win at and only Russian champions Rubin Kazan have managed a victory there this season. I just can’t see the Gunners going there and winning.

Absentees

Arsenal will play the second leg without captain and inspiration Cesc Fabregas, who is out for the rest of the season after breaking his leg in last night’s draw. Fabregas would have missed the clash anyway because he had picked up his third booking of the competition.

To make things worse Arsenal will be without key central defender William Gallas, who could also be out of action for the rest of the season. The Frenchmen pulled a calf muscle in last night’s game and will be a big miss.

And just to complete their injury misery attacking midfielder Andrey Arshavin will also be out injury for three weeks. All three players are influential for the Gunners and without them they stand little chance of making it into the semi-finals.

Barcelona will be missing the centre-back pairing of Gerard Pique, who picked up a third booking of the competition and captain Carlos Puyol who was dismissed for the foul on Fabregas that gave Arsenal their equaliser from the spot.

I believe that Arsenal will miss their three players more than Barca will miss their two players. Argentine defender Gabriel Milito, Mexican Rafael Marquez and maybe even Eric Abidal, coming back from injury, are all waiting to replace the suspended pair.

Brilliant

In the first twenty minutes of last night’s game Barca could have had the tie wrapped up. Arsenal were penned back in their own half and it just seemed like a matter of time before the European champions scored.

However Arsenal stood firm thanks mainly to some superb saves by erratic keeper Manuel Almunia. The Spaniard was at fault for Birmingham’s goal at the weekend but he denied Barca on numerous occasions in the opening stages of last night’s game.

Barcelona showed their ability to keep the ball in that first half and Arsenal struggled to get anywhere near it at times. The Barcelona midfield looked a cut above in that opening period and gave Abou Diaby and Alexandre Song the runabout.

Barcelona are not playing at their best at the moment in La Liga but in the first half against Arsenal they were fantastic. Although they didn’t score a goal in the first half Barca boss Pep Guardiola described their first half display as the “best half” since he took charge.

Barcelona cut through the Arsenal defence twice in the second half through Swedish enigma Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The much criticised striker has suddenly hit form at the right time. He has started scoring goals in La Liga and his old confidence seems to have returned after a barren spell.

Quiet

Barca put in this superb display despite World Player of the Year Leo Messi having a relatively quiet night. Due to his outstanding displays in recent weeks and goals, we now expect something special from him every time he has the ball.

However the last few games he has proved he is only human! Fortunately for him Ibrahimovic has stepped up to the plate and scored the vital goals needed for Barca to claim victory. Every player has quiet spells during the season and Messi is a victim of his own incredible recent form. I don’t think he will be out of the headlines for long though.

Impossible?

Despite Arsenal’s comeback last night they are currently not in the same league as Barca. And even at full strength they would struggle to get a victory at the Camp Nou. Arsenal will not be at full strength for Tuesday night’s game and I just can’t see them living with Barcelona on home turf.

Barcelona seems determined to get to the Champions League final at rivals Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium. Arsene Wenger’s side are young and the second leg must be approached as a learning curve and if they lose then they will have learnt a few lessons from the best footballing team on the planet.