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Club Focus - Arsenal - Dream of a Wembley Champions League final ends as Barcelona deprive Gunners
Refereeing decisions in Saturday’s Premier League match against Sunderland left Arsene Wenger feeling ‘disgusted.’ Tuesday night’s events at the Nou Camp relegated this to a mere precursor as Arsenal were deprived the chance of a first Champions League title for another year.
Deprivation was a constant theme throughout the match and was evident from the outset as Barça starved the Gunners of both possession and opportunities. Predictably the Catalans dominated possession from the off, and despite failing to hit the heights of their free-flowing first-half showing at the Emirates, still created sufficient opportunities to have carved open Arsenal within the opening 45 minutes. As it was, it took an uncharacteristic error from Cesc Fabregas to prompt the breakthrough in additional time as the captain gifted away possession on the edge of the box before neat footwork from Andres Iniesta set up Lionel Messi, who finished with aplomb.
Manuel Almunia replaced the injured Wojciech Szczesny in goal, but was given little chance by Messi’s composure in front of goal. As well as being without their first-choice goalkeeper, the Gunners were deprived of the clean sheet they so desperately craved heading into the interval, yet Szczesny’s withdrawal did not have the anticipated effect. Seemingly with a point to prove, Almunia produced a series of point blank saves to deny Messi his hat-trick and keep Arsenal in the tie. Almunia had experience of entering a Champions League clash with Barcelona as a substitute and then, as now, the Gunners paid dearly for their numerical disadvantage and were left to rue a refereeing decision.
Having been fortunate to haul themselves back into the match courtesy of a Sergio Busquets own goal just after the break, the Gunners were effectively deprived of the chance to build on their aggregate lead with Robin van Persie’s dismissal. Despite having drawn level minutes before his sending off, the Dutchman’s highly controversial second booking effectively sealed Arsenal’s fate. In trying to win back possession, and crucially keep it, an already unenviable task became nigh on impossible as Arsenal were left chasing shadows and chasing the game. Had van Persie not been dismissed, the Gunners may well have still fallen to arguably the world’s greatest team, yet the fact that his side were not even given a chance will gall Wenger most of all.
In a clash of beautiful footballing teams, the result was not, as expected, decided by beautiful football. Fabregas’ error provided the crucial breakthrough for a thus far misfiring Barcelona and Arsenal’s solitary strike was an untidy own goal. The closest glimpse of beautiful football came when Xavi Hernandez was put through, yet even his finish took a deflection on its way into the net as events conspired to prevent beautiful football prevailing. In failing to register a single shot on goal in the entire match, Arsenal cannot have expected to progress - whether decisions went against them or not.
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