From Cesc Fabregas came the courage, from Theo Walcott the
inspiration, and from both of them the goals that somehow keep
Arsenal in this extraordinary Champions League quarter-final.
Outclassed by Barcelona for the first hour, they appeared to be
out of the competition for another season when Zlatan Ibrahimovic
scored the second of his two fine goals.
But then came the moment when Arsene Wenger decided there was
nothing else for it. The moment when he dragged off a full back,
sent on a super-quick right winger and simply hoped for the
best.
On the spot: Cesc Fabregas smashes home Arsenal's
equaliser late on
Walcott was terrific, the manner in which he took his
69th-minute goal surely enough to convince Arsenal's manager that
the young England international must start in the Nou Camp next
Tuesday; that he made a mistake in responding to an injury to
Andrey Arshavin by sending on Emmanuel Eboue after only 27
minutes.
The decision to then take off Bacary Sagna and move Eboue into
defence turned this contest on its head at the Emirates, and with
Barcelona now without their two central defenders - both Carles
Puyol and Gerard Pique are suspended - they have to use Walcott in
a bid to take advantage.
That Walcott then provided the cross that led to Fabregas's
equaliser only strengthened his case. It was a terrific ball, one
that Nicklas Bendtner headed down, forcing Puyol to foul Fabregas
in a reckless attempt to stop him scoring.
Upended: Fabregas is brought down by Carles Puyol,
who was sent off late on
For Fabregas there were echoes of Roy Keane in Turin 11 years
ago. He might not have dominated the game in the way Keane did
after seeing Juventus take a two-goal lead and receiving the booked
that ruled him out of the final, but it was heroic
nevertheless.
Having only played after passing a late fitness test, he was a
distraught, dejected figure when Massimo Busacca showed him a
yellow card for what looked a perfectly good challenge on Sergio
Busquets, complaining to the Swiss official as the two men returned
to their respective dressing rooms at half-time.
But Fabregas bravely battled on, not just scoring his
85th-minute penalty but limping through the final few minutes. It
seems on landing after taking his spot-kick he suffered what looked
suspiciously like a stress fracture; the kind of injury that comes
as a result of severe shin splints; the kind of injury that might
just have ended his season and ruined his chances of representing
Spain at this summer's World Cup.
Held back: Lionel Messi battles to get beyond
Arsenal's Alex Song
The sight of him suffering only added to the sense of drama and
the sense of defiance in Arsenal ranks. But Barcelona will wonder
how they allowed Arsenal to battle their way back into this tie,
given how superior they were for the opening hour. They were
magnificent, mesmerising, every inch the best team in Europe.
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Almunia
8; Sagna 6
(Walcott 66min, 7), Gallas 5 (Denilson 44, 6), Vermaelen 6, Clichy
5; Fabregas 6, Song 5, Diaby 6; Arshavin 5 (Eboue 27, 6), Bendtner
5, Nasri 7.
Booked: Arshavin, Song,
Fabregas,
Eboue, Diaby.
BARCELONA (4-4-1-1):
Valdes 6; Alves 7, Puyol 7, Pique 7, Maxwell 6; Pedro 6,
Busquets 8, Xavi 9, Keita 6; Messi 7
(Milito 86); Ibrahimovic 7 (Henry 77).
Booked: Pique. Sent off: Puyol.
Man of the match:
Xavi.
Referee: Massimo Busacca
(Switzerland).
This was not exactly what Wenger had in mind when he said this
would be a celebration of football at its finest. It was football
at its finest, but only by Barcelona. Only by the side who gave
Arsenal a lesson in the finer arts of the beautiful game.
Only by the side that even sprung something of a surprise in
switching from the 4-3-3 formation that Wenger so admires to a more
orthodox 4-4-2 that they have apparently been practising in
training. Arshavin's injury forced Wenger to make a change but he
changed his formation to match them too, pushing Fabregas into an
even more advanced role behind Bendtner and making his wingers
adopt a more defensive approach.
Even then there was little Arsenal could do to contain them,
because while the classy Catalans are a side that can pass their
opponents to death they can also hit them on the break.
Giving Gunners hope: Theo Walcott scores Arsenal's
first goal
Their opening goal, scored 22 seconds into the second half and
before Wenger had even returned to his seat, was more Bolton than
Barcelona. A long ball forward from the centre half and a lob over
the goalkeeper. OK, so Kevin Davies might have struggled to finish
with the finesse of Ibrahimovic, but you get the drift.
Lionel Messi was not at his most resplendent but in tandem with
the wonderful Xavi Hernandez he had Arsenal chasing shadows. By
half-time Barca had enjoyed 71 per cent of the ball and unleashed
more than nine shots on targets with none in return, Arsenal's only
contribution of note the yellow card for Fabregas and the
disappearance of William Gallas on a stretcher with what looked
like a recurrence of his calf injury.
Blaming defeat in that Champions League Final four years ago on
the dismissal of Jens Lehmann will be wearing a bit thin now,
because had it not been for the heroics of Manuel Almunia there
would have been no comeback.
On fire: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores Barcelona's
first goal at the Emirates
With the loss of Gallas came a slightly bizarre decision from
Wenger. Rather than send on Sol Campbell, he opted for Alex Song as
his replacement and sent on Denilson from the bench.
But it was Song who failed to respond to a decent ball forward
from Pique by chasing down Ibrahimovic, the Swede using the time
and space to beat Almunia with a super chip, and Song who then
combined with Gael Clichy to lose the Barcelona striker for a
second time. This time Xavi was the provider, Ibrahimovic driving a
bullet past Arsenal's goalkeeper.
Delight: Ibrahimovic celebrates with team-mates and
management after opening the scoring in north London
From Walcott, however, came the start of a remarkable revival
that took advantage of the complacency that had spread through the
Catalans. Suddenly Arsenal were playing with more urgency; more
fluency too.
It was a super pass from Bendtner but an even more impressive
angled run from Walcott that ended with a finish that Victor Valdes
proved powerless to stop.
At the double: Ibrahimovic fires home Barcelona's
second goal
What then followed was more astonishing still. A moment of
madness from Puyol and a moment of pure theatre from Fabregas, once
a son of Barcelona but now the adopted son of Arsenal.
Last night he fought to the final whistle for them and gave them
a fighting chance, even if it is hard to see beyond Pep Guardiola's
side for a place in the semi-finals.
