Arsenal can beat Barcelona.But can they beat Messi?

Latest email : from Stan Mortlock

Hi Myles,

I just logged in to see your Barcelona peview.

I feel more confident against Barcelona than I did against Birmingham. In fact, I am more confident that Arsenal can score two goals than Barcelona could score four goals.

Regards,

Stan

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A beatnik blogger interviews himself:

What\’s your gut feeling about Barcelona tonight?

That I\’ve seen the game already. All football matches are different, I know, but it could be like last year. Bendtner scores, then Messi equalises and scores and scores again and then scores his fourth and Barcelona win 4-1.

But surely Arsenal have improved since then?

They\’ve improved a lot because Djourou, Wilshere and Szczesny have made the spine stronger, more reliable. It\’s a big game for Koscielny, who tracked Messi into midfield in the first leg, and did OK against him.

Will Arsenal miss Song a lot?

Yes. Their pattern of play depends on what Fabregas, Song and Wilshere do together. Song can run. Denilson can’t.

Do Barcelona have problems in their team?

Absolutely. With Pique and Puyol not playing, Arsenal have a good chance of scoring an away goal. It won\’t be 0-0 tonight. But as Wenger said yesterday, “You\’d never bet on Messi having a bad game.”

Recently, Barcelona played Mallorca away without Xavi, the brains of their side and they took 38 minutes to score. Keita flicked on and when the ball bounced, Messi controlled it with his chest and headed in his 42nd goal of this season. David Villa beat the offside trap for 2-0 in 57 and a topspin rocket from Pedro made it 3-0. Messi was the breakthrough man. He got the first goal.

So Messi will be the difference, as he was last season?

I think so. He\’s almost unplayable because he scoots along the grass as if on a skateboard. His balance and timing, his range of improvisation, is phenomenal, as every football fans knows.

Being small, he has an intimate relationship with the ball and the pitch. You can barge him off the ball and find that you are more off-balance than he is, so he gets the ball back again. Messi can make lots of little things happen that no other player can make happen. He\’s very competitive but he\’s humble and often has a smile on his face.

In a friendly in Qatar last December, when Brazil played Argentina, I watched the second half live online. Messi was marked out of the game and the score was 0-0 after 92 minutes and then Messi ran straight at David Luiz and went into the box and scored.

What was Messi like in their last game?

At home to Zaragoza last Saturday, Pep didn\’t rest Messi but he made six changes to the side that beat Valencia. Messi was good but he didn\’t score. They won 1-0 with a goal by Keita in 43 minutes but they had to sweat for it. But after that victory they had 74 points from 27 games with a goal difference on 65.

What\’s the biggest difference between the Arsenal attack and the Barcelona attack?

Apart from Messi? They\’re much better at passing to marked men in the box. And when the ball goes wide, and it’s crossed low, they anticipate, they make runs to the near post. When Barcelona stutter it’s because they\’re making too many three-yard passes in the D, trying to triangulate their way through eight defenders in narrow area.

But when the ball goes wide, Messi can scoot in between five defenders and knock the ball into the net with either foot.

In the box, Van Persie is too static. But he can make goals for himself from nothing. And his movement for the goal against Birmingham was brilliant. Arshavin beat two defenders on the right, looked up, picked out the only area where a goal would be possible, Van Persie stepped back a couple of yards and volleyed in Arshavin\’s pinpoint cross. But Van Persie\’s follow-through caught the defender on the hardest part of his body, the hip. Doing that will invariably damage your knee ligament.

Are you looking forward to the game?

Not really.

Why not?

I don’t know. Maybe it\’s because I think I\’ve seen it already. Maybe by 6 pm I will be really up for it.

Before the first leg you asked: Can Arsenal outrun Barcelona? What do you think now?

Pep thinks Arsenal might outrun his team – that\’s his biggest concern. He doesn\’t want the score to be 2-2 on aggregate after 75 minutes. I like Pep a lot. He’s in his third season and he’s smart and demanding and ruthless.He’s speaking better English than he did a year ago, I notice.

If Arsenal lose tonight, will they win the league?

Maybe. Depends on the fitness of the players, on who you can put out there to do the business when it matters most. Chelsea, Man United and City will never all be as weak at the same time as they are now. If Arsenal don’t win the title this time they might not have such a good chance for 10 years.

Have you talked to your gambling greengrocer about tonight\’s game?

John says, “Have a pound on Arsenal to be 1-0 down at half-time and nick it at the end. At 50-1.”

What\’s your gut feeling about Barcelona tonight? That I\’ve seen the game already. All football matches are different, but it could be like last year. Bendtner scores, then Messi equalises and scores and scores again and then scores his fourth and Barcelona win 4-1 But surely Arsenal have improved since then? They\’ve improved a lot because Djourou, Wilshere and Szczesny have made the spine stronger, more reliable. It\’s a big game for Koscielny, who tracked Messi into midfield last time, and did OK against him. Will Arsenal miss Song a lot? Yes. Their pattern of play depends on what Fabregas, Song and Wilshere do together. Song can run. Denilson can’t. Do Barcelona have flaws and problems in their team? Absolutely. With Pique and Puyol not playing, Arsenal have a chance of scoring an away goal. It won\’t be 0-0 tonight. And as Wenger said yesterday, “You\’d never bet on Messi having a bad game.” Recently, Barcelona played Mallorca away without Xavi, the brains of their team, and they took 38 minutes to score. Keita flicked on and when the ball bounced, Messi controlled it with his chest and headed in his 42nd goal of this season. David Villa beat the offside trap for 2-0 in 57 and a topspin rocket from Pedro made it 3-0. Messi was the breakthrough man. He got the first goal So Messi will be the difference, as he was last season? I think so. You CAN get the ball of him at games. But he\’s almost unplayable because he scoots along the grass as if on a skateboard. His balance and timing, his range of improvisation, is phenomenal, as every football fans knows. Being small, he has an intimate relationship with the ball and the pitch. You can barge him off the ball and find that you are more off-balance than he is, so he gets teh ball back again. Messi can make lots of little things happen that no other player can make happen. He\’s a winner but he\’s humble, he doesn\’t watch much football, and often has a smile on his face. In a friendly in Qatar last December, when Brazil played Argentina, I watched the second half live online. Messi was marked out of the game and the score was 0-0 after 92 minutes and then Messi ran straight at David Luiz and went into the box and scored the only goal of the game. What was Messi like in their last game? At home to Zaragoza last Saturday, Pep didn\’t rest Messi but he made six changes to the side that beat Valencia. Messi was good but he didn\’t score. They won 1-0 with a goal by Keita in 43 minutes but they had to sweat for it. But after that win they had 74 points from 27 games with a goal difference on 65. What\’s the biggest difference between the Arsenal attack and the Barcelona attack? They\’re much better at passing to marked men in the box. And when the ball goes wide, and its crossed low, they anticipate, they make runs to teh near post. When Barcelona stutter its because they\’re making too many three-yard passes in the D, trying to triangulate their way through eight defenders in narrow area. But when the ball goes wide, Messi can scoot in between five defenders and knock the ball into the net with either foot. In the box, Van Persie is too static. But he can make goals for himself from nothing. And his movement for the goal against Birmingham was brilliant. Arshavin beat two defenders on the right, looked up, picked out the only area where a goal would be possible, Van Persie had stepped back a couple of yards and volleyed in Arshavin\’s pinpoint cross. But Van Persie\’s follow-through caught the defender on the hardest part of his body, the hip. Doing that will invariably damage your knee ligament. Are you looking forward to the game? Not really. Why not? I dont know. Maybe it\’s because I think I\’ve seen it already. Before the first leg you asked: Can Arsenal outrun Barcelona? What do you think now? Pep thinks Arsenal might outrun his team – that\’s his biggest concern . He doesn\’t want the score to be 2-2 on aggregate after 75 minutes. I like Pep a lot. He’s in his third season and he’s smart. And he’s speaking better English than he did a year ago, I notice. If Arsenal lose tonight, will they win the league? Maybe. Depends on the fitness of the players. On luck, on officials Have you talked to your gambling greengrocer about tonight\’s game? John says, “Have a pound on Arsenal to be 1-0 down and half-time and nick it at the end. At 50-1.”