Possession the key for Guardiola

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola feels the key to Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Arsenal will be which side is able to dominate possession on the night.

Guardiola was again full of praise for the style of football of his quarter-final opponents on the eve of the deciding tie at the Nou Camp, with the scoreline 2-2 from the first leg.

“We will have to be concentrated but not cautious as this would suggest being nervous. Both sides are good when they have the ball at their feet and so the team which has it more of the time will win the match,” Guardiola told a pre-match press conference.

“In the first game we had the ball a lot before half-time but then after that less so and Arsenal created quite a lot of danger. Arsenal played well and if we are not at our best then we will not win tomorrow.

“I think now both sides know each other well and the way the match went in the first game is not so important as for example you can be sure that we will not have so many shots in the first 15 minutes.”

Much attention has been given to the impact of Theo Walcott following his introduction at the Emirates and Guardiola was irritated at how much importance has been given to him.

“Walcott is a fast player with strong legs. He has a lot of quality and the best way to avoid him creating danger will be to keep the ball. However, Walcott was not the key in the first leg, it was Manuel Almunia as he made a load of incredible saves.

“If we had scored those chances then Walcott’s introduction would not have made a big difference,” he explained.

Barcelona have defensive concerns with Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol out suspended while striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is injured. Bojan is favourite ahead of Thierry Henry to take his place and the youngster says that he is ready to step up.

“We will miss him (Ibrahimovic) but I am not scared to play and I am prepared if Pep chooses me. I felt in good form at the weekend and I know I can do well,” said Bojan, who scored two goals in Barca’s 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night.

“It would be great to play in such a game but that is not my decision to make. We will have to go into the match with an attacking mentality and if we do that then we have a very good chance of winning.”