All eyes were on the Nou Camp on Tuesday night, for what promised to be an exceptional showcase of footballing talent. Arsenal had edged the first leg at the Emirates 2-1 thanks to goals from Robin Van Persie and Andrei Arshavin cancelling out David Villa's coolly taken first half opener. Few would disagree that it had been a highly entertaining game of football that seemingly set up an enticing second leg, with Arsene Wenger's men knowing too well that a one-goal lead was not enough to sit back and defend against a team of Barca's quality.
Both teams were missing key players for the much anticipated rematch. Barcelona were without their brilliant centre back pairing of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, whilst Arsenal were missing Theo Walcott, Alex Song and Thomas Vermaelen, with Robin Van Persie being a surprise inclusion in the squad.
Right from the off, Barcelona pegged Arsenal back in their own half, constantly imposing themselves on the Gunners who struggled to put many passes together in quick succession. Despite this, Arsenal's often unconvincing back line managed to withstand the pressure resolutely until the dying moments of first half injury time, when finally Barca made the breakthrough. A rare mistake from Cesc Fabregas allowed Iniesta to slip through Lionel Messi, who skillfully lifted the ball over the diving Almunia before volleying home into an empty goal. Soon after the restart, Arsenal were offered a way back into the game with a Sergio Busquets own goal levelling the score on the night, leaving Barca trailing 3-2 on aggregate.
Right from the off, Barcelona pegged Arsenal back in their own half, constantly imposing themselves on the Gunners who struggled to put many passes together in quick succession. Despite this, Arsenal's often unconvincing back line managed to withstand the pressure resolutely until the dying moments of first half injury time, when finally Barca made the breakthrough. A rare mistake from Cesc Fabregas allowed Iniesta to slip through Lionel Messi, who skillfully lifted the ball over the diving Almunia before volleying home into an empty goal. Soon after the restart, Arsenal were offered a way back into the game with a Sergio Busquets own goal levelling the score on the night, leaving Barca trailing 3-2 on aggregate.
Just three minutes later came the moment of controversy. Van Persie, who had already been booked, was shown a second yellow in the 56th minute for shooting after the referee's (Massimo Busacca) whistle had been blown for offside. Arsenal were to pay for the ruling by the Swiss referee, as Barcelona were to use the extra man to their advantage. Xavi scored a well worked second in the 69th minute, before Messi finished the scoring two minutes later from the penalty spot after a foul from Koscielny in the box. The match was still delicately poised, as one goal was still enough to send Arsenal through to the last eight. However Arsenal had little to offer in reply, and despite the impressive Jack Wilshere carving out a decent opening for Nicklas Bendtner, his first touch let him down and the opportunity was consequently squandered. The better of the two teams progressed, but not in the way Pep Guardiola would have wanted.
It is hard to believe that in a game of such importance a referee could give a player an early bath in such circumstances. Firstly, it was not certain that the striker was offside in the first place - if he was, it was tight. Secondly, there was only a second between the moment Busacca blew his whistle and the ball being struck. Thirdly, we do not know if Van Persie heard the whistle. The Swiss referee was very far behind play and the sound of 95,000 football fans could easily drown out such a noise. There is little doubt in the minds of most neutral spectators that the decision killed the game, and the world was potentially robbed of a tense last 34 minutes where anything could have happened between two great passing sides. Arsenal had been completely dominated up until this point, but football matches are not won by dominating other teams. This is a fact that Arsenal know well, as they have been on the other side of the spectrum. A prime example of a game being won in such circumstances was at the Emirates three weeks earlier, where Barcelona had the best of possession over the first 70 minutes, but ended up losing the game in the final 20. Who is to say that this would not have happened this time around with 11 men? Football, as we all know, is a highly unpredictable sport - it's a shame for the neutral (and Arsenal fans!) that a poor decision by an official means that we will never know what would have happened.
It's no secret that this Barcelona team is something special, with many reputable footballers, both past and present, dubbing them the greatest team of all time. With players such as Messi, Villa, Xavi and Iniesta just for starters, it can be understood why. Overall they deserved their win, and they are undoubted favourites for the European crown this season. It's hard to look past them.
