Not a lot in it, except that we've been trashed quite comprehensively. With the tie at 2-2 before the game began, there was all to play for. But like the previous semi final game against Man United, at half time in the second leg, it was all but over, 3-1 the score.
The reasons for the above scoreline are many, but it simply exposes all of our frailties this season. And this time though, Manuel Almunia couldn't be blamed for all 4 of the goals. The 2 he conceded to Ibrahimovic in the previous leg, yes, but this time, not one is down to him because they were unstoppable.
We really really need a central defender. Had Big Sol played instead of Silvestre I'm not sure it would have been a different story but somehow, so far with Campbell there, we haven't look so exposed for a good long while. He might not have speed, but he keeps our defence organised. Silvestre is not half the player he was at united, and like my brother says, he's more of a LB then a CB. The team had to be stripped down to our bare bones for him to take the field but that's life.
At this point, I'm not sure if having Fabregas, Arshavin, Song and Van Persie all in the side would have changed anything. Barca is the finished product of the type of football we pride ourselves upon and this game simply proves that fact. They managed to be technically superior to an Arsenal side - they passed the ball better, retained possession better. For an Arsenal team, who only know how to play possession football, it's little wonder why they couldn't cope - they don't know how to play it any other way.
Another point to make is the work rate of the team overall. It's not there. The way Barca keep possession is down to them working hard to retrieve the ball when they lose it. They press all over the pitch, and we just let them. When we match like for like, we get punished because they can break even faster, by passing the ball to a player in a better position. I don't think we're new to that at all. And it's also why the less technical teams prefer to let us come at them and all they do is defend with 11 behind the ball and soak up the pressure till the full 90 is up.
Only the league left, and this team has 5 big games to play. The next is at White Hart Lane. Anything less than a win there would mean the end of our season.
A Little Drunken Madness @ 4:38 AM
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