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It would seriously be called into questioning anytime Arsene Wenger and by implication Arsenal lay claims to being the masters of entertaining and awe inspiring football. Last Wednesdays match against Barcelona showed clearly that the Catalans are indeed the king of exciting and out of this world football. Looking at the statistics at the end of the first half, it was glaring that the possession football that Wenger has taken to a new level in the Premiership mattered little to the Catalans as they stoked the ball around Emirates like conquerors.

Another striking reality is the inability of Arsenal to cope with the high pressure tactics of Barcelona. They held on to the ball like selfish children and simultaneously harass and pressurize Arsenal into losing possession as soon as they had it; very impressive. Could Wenger had forgotten to clearly communicate a definitive plan to his team going into this tie?

Within the first 20 minutes or so, Arsenal were left chasing shadows and if not for the uncharacteristic heroics of Almunia, they could have be 0-3 down in the space of that time. It was almost unbelievable to see Arsenal under so much pressure at home; they simply had no answer to the onslaught.

Having somehow connived to lose their grip on the tie, Barcelona still have the chance to move to the next round with two precious ‘away’ goals in the kitty. I suppose Arsenal still have the key factor to all lives endeavour, hope; they can still go through at Nou Camp but not with the way they they played last week. They are capable of doing better than what we saw and they must be on top of their act to have a sniff of victory in Spain. There is no question about it, the second leg is going to be a tough nut to crack for the Gunners but they could also prepare well and go to their hosts den with a hammer!

Likely Semi Finalists

The greatest surprise from the quarter finals played so far is the one between Girondins Bordeux and Lyon, many thought that the former should shade the ties on both occasion. Now trailing with by two goals but with an ‘away’ goal in the bad, all they need to do is score two goals and they will be through to the next round. The only snag is that Lyon scores away goals too! My money is on Lyon therefore to move on from this tie.

Arsenal would need to not only score in Spain but must also put up rear guard performance of the year: their defense must not be breached! A tall order if you ask me and I do not in my wildest imagination think this could be done. There is no doubt about it, the second leg is going to be a tough nut to crack for the Gunners but they could also prepare well and go to their hosts den with a hammer! Would they be able to go through? On a scale of 1-5, I would put their chances of moving on at 1.5 and this ultimately means the Gunners would have to wait for another time to win their first European Cup.

Manchester United without Wayne Rooney is a less threat with the most inform player in the world in the team. I am very sure SAF would be pondering seriously on how to resolve the absence of the lethal forward. Having got a goal from their first trip, they remain strong favourites to qualify but, (a big one) they must be prepared to give the Bavarians a fight of their lives. Bayern is by no means a small team in Europe only that they fell away in recent seasons but the signs are clearly there that they could hurt any team on their day and Manchester United must not give them the chance to fulfill their potential at Old Trafford. I fancy another semi final appearance for the Red Devils.

Jose Mourinho is at the verge of accomplishing a very elusive semi final appearance for Inter Milan. Having scored a goal at the San Siro and shutting out CSK Mosco in the process, one cannot bet against the Nerazzuri clinching a place in the next round. Most importantly, Jose Mourinho’s sides are known to be very miserly at the back. His successes in club football have been founded on solid defenses and this, ‘am sure would take them through again.

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