Arsenal vs Barcelona

Jamo Martinez · February 17, 2011

Great game of fusbol. Wilshere does look rather damn good, doesn't he

Tommy Chong · February 17, 2011

Well, if you really wanna compare Everton to Barca...

Then, we went up 1-0 in the first half at the Emirates,

and lost 2-1 with 2 quick goals near the end of the second half...

Brownie · February 17, 2011

If stinger sees this, you remember when we talked about Barca's tactics? Arsenal scored exactly the goal I was trying to describe with my terrible diagram.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLY5svbeHE[video=youtube;FrLY5svbeHE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLY5svbeHE[/video]

If you look at the buildup right at the start, two passes take out the entire Barca midfield. When they press so much high up the pitch, it is really dangerous for them if the opposition can pass forwards through them. That is the only way to beat this style for me - you have to be brave enough and technically good enough to survive the initial 'shark attack' 3 man pressure. If you can do that, you have a chance.

davek · February 17, 2011

Brownie said:
If stinger sees this, you remember when we talked about Barca's tactics? Arsenal scored exactly the goal I was trying to describe with my terrible diagram.

[video=youtube;FrLY5svbeHE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLY5svbeHE[/video]

If you look at the buildup right at the start, two passes take out the entire Barca midfield. When they press so much high up the pitch, it is really dangerous for them if the opposition can pass forwards through them. That is the only way to beat this style for me - you have to be brave enough and technically good enough to survive the initial 'shark attack' 3 man pressure. If you can do that, you have a chance.

When Barcelona were talking up the threat of Walcott to them before last night's game some thought it was a bit OTT or disengenuous. And although that was Nasri racing to get on the end of Fabregas' pass, that's the type of space Waclott would be attacking into from deep. Personally, I thought Barcelona lost their composure last night after van Persie scored. They should have settled for the draw and not gone for the victory. They'd never have gotten suckered into that counter attack for the second goal if Puyol had been on the pitch.

Re the 'shark attack' from Barca: I'm not sure it was up to top gear last, tbh. Maybe that's because Arsenal can move the ball at pace themselves and was ineffective I'm not too sure. They had almost 2/3rds possession, but the majority was in their own half and not troubling Arsenal who had the edge in territorial terms. Where it mattered most, Arsenal retained the ball.

Brownie · February 17, 2011

davek said:
When Barcelona were talking up the threat of Walcott to them before last night's game some thought it was a bit OTT or disengenuous. And although that was Nasri racing to get on the end of Fabregas' pass, that's the type of space Waclott would be attacking into from deep. Personally, I thought Barcelona lost their composure last night after van Persie scored. They should have settled for the draw and not gone for the victory. They'd never have gotten suckered into that counter attack for the second goal if Puyol had been on the pitch.

Re the 'shark attack' from Barca: I'm not sure it was up to top gear last, tbh. Maybe that's because Arsenal can move the ball at pace themselves and was ineffective I'm not too sure. They had almost 2/3rds possession, but the majority was in their own half and not troubling Arsenal who had the edge in territorial terms. Where it mattered most, Arsenal retained the ball.

I agree mate, I think the reason was that they actually had to work very, very hard just to keep possession because Arsenal were also playing a pressing game. Normally they can keep the ball with little effort, but because of the movement required to avoid Arsenal's pressing, they didn't have as much energy to close down when they lost it.

Alio · February 17, 2011

Was anyone else a bit annoyed (no, guessed not) by how many times the commentators or pundits, made Arsenal sound like David compared to the Goliath of Barcelona? I'm a fan of how both play, yes they both tingle my snidersenses at times, but they are the best in the World in my opinion at that type of football. Not sure Arsenal deserved such a discredit from start to finish.....

I want to see this terrible diagram Brownie, sounds immense!

Brownie · February 17, 2011

Alio said:
Was anyone else a bit annoyed (no, guessed not) by how many times the commentators or pundits, made Arsenal sound like David compared to the Goliath of Barcelona? I'm a fan of how both play, yes they both tingle my snidersenses at times, but they are the best in the World in my opinion at that type of football. Not sure Arsenal deserved such a discredit from start to finish.....

I want to see this terrible diagram Brownie, sounds immense!

I'll try to find it mate, it wasn't really very exciting.

Brownie · February 17, 2011

Here it is: http://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/31981-Barca-Real-Madrid/page6/#119

Was a nice thread that one.

davek · February 17, 2011

Brownie said:
I agree mate, I think the reason was that they actually had to work very, very hard just to keep possession because Arsenal were also playing a pressing game. Normally they can keep the ball with little effort, but because of the movement required to avoid Arsenal's pressing, they didn't have as much energy to close down when they lost it.

Playing a high line also allowed Arsenal to have defenders on occasion breaking out and supplementing the foraging of their midfielders. Although Barcelona had the lion's share of possession, Arsenal penned them in successfully. Take a look at average player position on this Telegraph site (right panel, under 'team stats'). Six of Barca's 10 outfield players game position shows they did their work in the centre circle. They sprung the offside a few times, but this wasn't vintage stuff.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-league/8329242/Arsenal-v-Barcelona-live.html

Rook · February 18, 2011

Well in lesser of 2 whiners.

No way Barca doesn't advance at home. Someone's getting carded on a blatant dive.

stinger · February 18, 2011

Brownie said:
If stinger sees this, you remember when we talked about Barca's tactics? Arsenal scored exactly the goal I was trying to describe with my terrible diagram.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLY5svbeHE[video=youtube;FrLY5svbeHE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLY5svbeHE[/video]

If you look at the buildup right at the start, two passes take out the entire Barca midfield. When they press so much high up the pitch, it is really dangerous for them if the opposition can pass forwards through them. That is the only way to beat this style for me - you have to be brave enough and technically good enough to survive the initial 'shark attack' 3 man pressure. If you can do that, you have a chance.

Your post looks very sensible, so not sure why I should oppose that. Though not sure what you are about with "bravery", and you need to be very, very good technically to have a chance to beat this kind of pressure on consistent basis (this season only Arsenal and Villarreal were able to do it). Also, it's worth mentioning that Barcelona in big games loses a lot of steam around hour played, as their pressing is impossible to sustain for whole game.

Brownie · February 18, 2011

stinger said:
Your post looks very sensible, so not sure why I should oppose that. Though not sure what you are about with "bravery", and you need to be very, very good technically to have a chance to beat this kind of pressure on consistent basis (this season only Arsenal and Villarreal were able to do it). Also, it's worth mentioning that Barcelona in big games loses a lot of steam around hour played, as their pressing is impossible to sustain for whole game.

By bravery I simply mean the confidence to try to pass through the pressing players, rather than go backwards or worse, hoof the ball up the line. It's brave to do it because there's a big risk that your pass will be intercepted if it's not perfectly accurate.