Tuesday evening, Barcelona, the Spanish city was roaring in anticipation for what could turn out to be a clash of football titans. On one hand the Catalans, downing their traditional "blaugrana"[blue and deep red] stripes, while on the other, the Gunners who traveled all the way from London in order to contribute to [what was supposed to be] a beauty of a technical game. 95,486 spectators showed up in the Spanish city to admire some of the best football one can hope to watch. Both Arsenal and Barcelona had to deal with teams who, being afraid of playing attacking football, played either a defensive counter attack game or played damage control footy and hoped for a tie. With the scenario set, sparks were set to fly as both teams have been known for their passion for letting the ball do the work, a philosophy that most teams don't have the talent and skill to abide by.
A similar ambiance had been mirrored back in 2006, during the Champions league final when a Gunners team led by Captain Thierry HENRY faced the once again favored Catalans. A sentiment of anticipation and revenge filled the air, one could almost taste it. As the line-up was announced, both sides displayed unfamiliar line-ups due to injuries and suspensions. Barcelona, however having the substitution capacity of a [normal] professional team weren't as affected as the Gunners. Arsenal's captain Cesc FABERGAS made his return both in the starting line-up as well as in his native city, an emotion filled evening was about unfold for him. In 2006, Arsenal faced their Spanish counter parts wearing their yellow away kits. The Gunners fought to the end, playing with only 10 men even though their goalkeeper had been sent off in the first half. The game had been BALANCE’d until fatigue set in; playing a man down is never easy, especially against a side like Barcelona that relies on effective passing and constant movement.
In an attempt to make up for the past and compensate for previous shortcomings, the Gunners stepped on to the Nou Camp pitch, surprisingly wearing ALL yellow, as if the disappointments of yester-games had not severely stained their uniforms. [Suggestions for the kit man: consider an all white uniform to symbolize the rebirth of our team]. Instead of focusing on the game at hand, it seemed as though the Gunners were still haunted by the 'ghost-of-matches-past', so much so that a similar scenario seemed destined to unfold.
In the 19th minute, after heavy pressure from the Catalans, Wojciech Szczesny intervened and parried a shot away from Dani ALVES. A great save on a dangerous shot cannoned so hard that it ended up dislocating the finger our pubescent keeper. Within just a couple of minutes of treatment, Arsène WENGER found himself obligated to make a goalie substitution an all too familiar scenario. This began to look even more freakishly [I chose to weigh my words carefully due to the paranormal nature of these events] familiar when, out of nowhere, Arsenal were reduced to 10 men. Robin Van PERSIE was flagged offside, but having not heard the whistle[due to 95,000+ fans cheering] ended the action by shooting at goal, subsequently the Swiss referee Massimo BUSACCA opted to send him off, a rash decision that would lead to the end of this great match.
I will bypass the play-by-play of the game and summarize it like this: Arsenal changed keepers, FABERGAS back-heeled the ball to INESTA, MESSI scored, we tied, the referee reduced the Gunners to 10, the referee GAVE Barca a penalty, MESSI did what he does, FABERGAS came off for the Danish-disaster. Gunners headed home head down [once again], and Catalan Euros got converted to Swiss Francs.
Thank you ref, or as Massimo learned today... Gràcies Arbitre.
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