"Barcelona are the team you don't want to play," Redknapp said. "They made a side like Arsenal, who in our league pass teams to death, almost look out of their depth."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/892058/harry-redknapp-keen-to-avoid-barca-after-milan-victory?cc=5739

I think that was an understatement. They (L'arse) were TOTALLY OUT of depth. Never seen a team play that bad. guess the passing game made them dizzy.

van persie says the ref killed the game! WAS THERE ACTUALLY A GAME? it was nothing but a training session. plus arsenal just set a new record. the only team in history with a ZERO goal attempt in the champions league.

@ddipp, why do you keep saying Messi was denied a goal. The call was actually
on Pedro not Messi!

Check it out at 1:20 on this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj-ReZH-7aU

Stop mixing things up to prove a point! Someone has to win a match, and the better
team did win. Even our everyday life is corrupt, money often comes before lives, so why
should football be any different?

the ref spoilt d whole game.barca has forced their way to the q finals, wat a shame [color=#990000][/color]

^^^Same thing happened to intermilan last year, so no biggie

^^^same what?
Inter did not play this bad and certainly they had a shot at goal.
More importantly though, they won the cup.

L'arse shamed the game of football with such a NO performance. 

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/matches/season=2010/round=2000031/match=2000484/postmatch/report/index.html


Check out the attempts on target and possession, and compare it with the arsenal match

FBS:

Never seen a team play that bad. guess the passing game made them dizzy.

Jamie Redknapp actually said in the Sky commentary box that Arsenal players looked dizzy after the game

Dizzy and tired; they just wanted to go home.

^^^

You guys are funny

Barcelona would do that to any team on this planet.

Gunnergo
Posts: 1,104





Arsène Wenger's displeasure was easily understandable as he ended the match raging at the referee who had shown Robin van Persie a second yellow card, and the Frenchman continued his diatribe in his post-match interviews. But now he needs to lay aside that sense of injustice and give attention to some of the deep-lying issues exposed by Tuesday night's elimination from the second of the four competitions that were still in Arsenal's sights a mere week and a half ago.

On Saturday night Arsenal travel to Old Trafford, where they meet Manchester United in an FA Cup sixth-round tie which could reduce their list of targets to one or, if the evening goes well, and given that United lie only three points ahead of them in the Premier League table, renew the hopes that another Double, the third of the Wenger era, could be on the cards.

"This is when a manager earns his money," George Graham, a former Arsenal manager, remarked on Talksport, and it is hard to imagine his successor getting much sleep between now and the weekend as he plots to arrest the sudden disintegration of a side that until very recently looked like fulfilling all the potential he has so insistently claimed on their behalf.

Only three weeks ago we were acclaiming perhaps the greatest performance of Wenger's decade and a half in north London, when they took on the world's best club side and prevailed not just through speed and skill but courage and sheer will to win, the very qualities they had so often been accused of lacking. In truth, they were fortunate that Lionel Messi so untypically missed two clear chances to score and that the referee denied Barcelona a plausible penalty claim, but still there were signs that Wenger's constant reiteration of a belief in his side's "spirit" indeed had some substance.

On Tuesday, however, their virtues were blown away and only the flaws remained. They may have been within one decent Nicklas Bendtner finish of smuggling themselves through to the next round, but such an outcome would have been an offence against natural justice, whatever Wenger and Van Persie might say.

The surprise was in the way Arsenal approached the match. Wednesday morning's Spanish papers were withering in their condemnation of the English side's disinclination to attack, a derision compounded by Arsenal's failure to complete their mission. Spanish observers did not like it when José Mourinho ordered Internazionale to pack their defence in last year's semi-final, but at least Mourinho's success earned him a measure of respect.

The scornful cartoon in Mundo Deportivo had Wenger reading from the Mourinho coaching manual: "The fault for not having a shot on goal , is the referee's, the referee's, the referee's, the referee's, the referee's." But when he reflects on Tuesday's events, he can hardly be proud that his side became the first since 2004 to fail to register a single shot in a Champions League match.

Dismay and perhaps even a measure of shame are the proper responses to such a lamentable feat. Barcelona are a wonderful team, but they were playing with two replacement centre-backs. Despite the freakishness of the possibility that Bendtner could have put his side through to the last eight, Arsenal did nothing to deserve any form of reward. The absence of Thomas Vermaelen, Alex Song and Theo Walcott played a part, and the marginal condition of Van Persie and Cesc Fábregas was clearly unhelpful. But the displays of Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby and Bendtner in particular cast doubt on Wenger's readiness to invest further deposits of faith in players who have spent most of their Arsenal careers underperforming.

Diaby, positioned alongside Jack Wilshere in front of the defence but with a relatively free commission, again highlighted the inability or unwillingness of Wenger to plug the gap left by the likes of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva. A strong, driving midfield player used to be an Arsenal characteristic, and Javier Mascherano showed how it should be done, even in a side fundamentally dedicated to attack. Argentina's captain, one imagines, is a player Wenger could have acquired a few years ago, although he might not have fancied doing business with Kia Joorabchian.

Rosicky and Samir Nasri were virtually absent from a game in which they were given enough scope to make an impact. Nasri, so stunningly effective in the first half of the season, seems to have forgotten that his best contributions come when, like Messi, he takes on opponents at close quarters in the penalty area. As for Bendtner, his heavy touch was as apparent as it had been in South Africa last summer, the point at which Wenger should have cut his losses on the Dane.

Eavesdropping on Arsenal supporters during the flight to Catalonia, it was interesting to hear one of them compare Wenger to L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. "What Arsène's running isn't a football club – it's a cult," the fan said. Barely even half-joking, he was representing that large section of the support to whom Wenger's pursuit of his vision has been too single-minded, and that a more flexible and realistic attitude to investment and recruitment would have long ended the drought since the club's last trophy. What they want is for Arsenal to act like the other big clubs. To them, that means buying an Andy Carroll rather than a Marouane Chamakh, or splashing out on the established qualities of a Mascherano rather than hoping for a Song or a Diaby to mature.

To accept such criticisms, and to take the appropriate action, would require a radical change in Wenger's approach. It would mean admitting that for several seasons his squad has lacked a balance of skill and strength, of artistry and resilience, of fantasy and functionality. Given the strength of his convictions, that seems unlikely to happen – which means that Arsenal's fans, however much they admire his integrity, cannot seriously expect the future to live up to the past any time soon.


^^^^^

VERY SUCCINCT ANALYSIS, EVEN ARSENAL SUPPORTER ARE DOUBTFUL OF THE QUALITY OF THE TEAM   A VISIT TO OTHER FORAS WILL THROW MORE INSIGHT TO HOW PEOPLE WORLD WIDE VIEWED THAT GAME. ARSENAL FANS IN 9JA SHOULD NOT BE BLINDED TO THE SUBLIMAL FOOTBALL PLAYED BY BARCA.

naijalodge:

chai i dey shame for arsenal fans,[b]a whole arsenal plaid a champions match without having a shot at all,is that a game or what?'imagin 4goals where scored in the mach by only one team(bacer) and some sentimental arsenal fans are talking about red card,abeg make una go ready to they hope for man utd or chelsea to have a revenge for u guys,arsenal is a bunch of disapointment and stain to the english league,tweee.[/b]

. . . and with all the 5hundred and sumfn passes,20sumfn shots by their opponent,60minutes
gone in the match. Barca were still trailin 3-2 from behind. Possibilties- The match could end up
like that, Barca could later successfull break the defence, after the home goal, all Arsenal had to
work for was just two shots at goal(me and you know what that means) dats where the victim had to be RVP!!!).

Stop pretending like you don't know whatssup! You can't be smarter than the ref, Barca needed help
and they got it. Ask any real ManU fan- it's all part of the game!

[size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt][size=8pt]I can't believe Arsenal fans are still crying, Get over with it.[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size]

baslone:

@ddipp, why do you keep saying Messi was denied a goal. The call was actually
on Pedro not Messi!

Check it out at 1:20 on this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj-ReZH-7aU

Stop mixing things up to prove a point! Someone has to win a match, and the better
team did win. Even our everyday life is corrupt, money often comes before lives, so why
should football be any different?

and so who's offside? messi? pedro?  did u even see the clip ure showing me? you gotta be the only one in the world who is still denying this. go do your correction and submit your notebook.

baslone:

. . . and with all the 5hundred and sumfn passes,20sumfn shots by their opponent,60minutes
gone in the match. Barca were still trailin 3-2 from behind. Possibilties- The match could end up
like that, Barca could later successfull break the defence, after the home goal, all Arsenal had to
work for was just two shots at goal(me and you know what that means) dats where the victim had to be RVP!!!).

Stop pretending like you don't know whatssup! You can't be smarter than the ref, Barca needed help
and they got it. Ask any real ManU fan- it's all part of the game!

tells us a lot about how people like u want to win a match by a fluke! MR 'ARSENAL FAN'!!

the ref kill the game. we would be back.

The X-Men of barcelona - XAVI INIESTA AND MESSI - made it happen yester-yester-night. Not forgetting - Pep - Spain's proffesor X.

i pray as a die hard man utd fan that our path will not cross barca's this season, i can't afford to go thru the 90min trauma arsenal fans went through tue night.

I cant believe the comments that Gunners were making.

Even Van Persie did NOT touch the ball in Barca's box 18 for the 56 minutes he spent.

Arguably, only Chelsea can play Barca in the champions league from England.

Akolawole:

I cant believe the comments that Gunners were making.

Even Van Persie did NOT touch the ball in Barca's box 18 for the 56 minutes he spent.

Arguably, only Chelsea can play Barca in the champions league from England.

COMMON MAN HOW COULD U MAKE SUCH AN UNFAIR COMMENT? OF COURSE HE DID TOUCH THE BALL ONCE. PROBLEM IS, HIS ONLY TOUCH WAS HIS ONLY CRIME. IT WAS IT THAT GOT HIM INTO TROUBLE!

The Ramires and Lampard collabo!!!

baslone:


             

The Ramires and Lampard collabo!!!

Yes, go and check the record very well.  People fear Barca so much but Barca dont want to play Chelsea at all.

FYI: The very first time in the last 10 years that Barca will have just one shot at goal was our last match in stamford bridge. Unfortunately, it was the goal that qualifies them on away goal rule.

Akolawole:

Yes, go and check the record very well.  People fear Barca so much but Barca dont want to play Chelsea at all.

FYI: The very first time in the last 10 years that Barca will have just one shot at goal was our last match in stamford bridge. Unfortunately, it was the goal that qualifies them on away goal rule.

Are we talking this same mid-field we have seen this season week in week out!!!

Dem Iniesta don enter problem be that o!!!

lekyar:

Chelsea fans have started on the road Arsenal fans took. Believe it or not the Barca team has no equal. Better pray to avoid them if you do qualify. nuff said.

They are obviously the best team in the world but can they be beaten? Yes

Arsenal's Arsene Wenger: Champions League Exit Will Ease Our Workload

Barcelona defender Adriano has rejected suggestions his side only play well because of officials.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2914/champions-league/2011/03/09/2386928/barcelonas-javier-mascherano-takes-sarcastic-swipe-at-arsenal-we-

Akolawole:

Yes, go and check the record very well.  People fear Barca so much but Barca dont want to play Chelsea at all.

FYI: The very first time in the last 10 years that Barca will have just one shot at goal was our last match in stamford bridge. Unfortunately, it was the goal that qualifies them on away goal rule.

You have a short memory! I guess you have forgotten what happened to Chelsea at Nou.
So far, Platini's remains the 12th man and the ref the man of the match playing against the best team in the world!

You can not win!

Head to head:chelsea vs Barcelona,who dey fear who?

shut up gunnaz! U guyz lost! Every complain, U shu b ashamed of urselves. Barca too much o!