Thoughts on Wenger, Barcelona, Messi and Chelsea after Arsenal Champions League demise

Arsenal emerged from last night’s Nou Camp encounter looking more bruised than John Ruiz after his David Haye battering. Barcelona, powered by the seemingly unstoppable Messi, swept the north Londoners aside to make a mockery of Arsenal’s pre-match hopes.

From half time onwards, we have all been subjected to an unending Barcelona and Messi love-in on the television and in the newspapers. Largely, it is fair enough: Barcelona are the best team in the world, and Messi is the best player. But the big win – and Barcelona’s brilliance - has, I think, blinded many of us to a few realities and unnecessary Arsenal shortcomings. Far be it for a Chelsea fan to comment on Arsenal and a competition we went out of in the previous round, but I think it’s worth throwing a few thoughts into the mix.

Playing great football isn’t enough
Few would argue that, at times, Arsenal play some astounding passing football. It is right that they, with meagre resources (from a certain perspective) and their commitment to youth development, get plaudits for that.

But playing great football on its own isn’t enough. I’m sick of hearing pundits – like Gullit and Souness last night – saying things like ‘you have to applaud Arsenal for the way they approached the game’. No, we don’t. They are at worst the third best team in the English league and were humbled 4-1. Why should we applaud that?

How long will it be – how many defeats in big matches – before Wenger and his team are criticised for not taking a more practical approach? In the second half of last night’s game, Guardiola made tactical changes that made his side more defensive. 3-1 up at home against a side with multiple injuries (and a side against which his team had scored a goal every 27 minutes on average) – and he tried to close it out. Barcelona swamped the midfield, and Arsenal’s counter attacks dried up.

If the best attacking team on the planet understands that playing great football isn’t enough and is prepared to sometimes take a more practical approach to winning games, Wenger should too. I’m not talking just about last night’s game or suggesting they change the fundamental way they play – but if I were an Arsenal fan, I’d be disappointed that Wenger’s stubbornness consistently creates such a needless imbalance. Playing to win isn’t a crime, and defending is as much an art as attacking. The best teams find the right balance between the two. So far, and admittedly despite massive steps forward this season, Arsenal haven’t.

Tactical naivety at the back
It isn’t just that imbalance that causes Arsenal problems. I suspect that whatever Arsenal did they would have lost last night, but defensively they were a shambles. Whilst clearly the loss of at least one key defensive player has an impact, that can be no excuse for a naïve defensive performance.

To my mind, unless you are a superior attacking side to this Barcelona team, there is only one way to play them. Sit the back four deep, holding that line, with wingers joining as auxiliary full backs when needed. Shields the box, allow Barcelona to have the ball and close their players down in your half. To threaten at the other end, you play on the counter attack.

It needs huge amounts of discipline and probably a decent centre forward who can hold the ball up, but this was how Chelsea lined up against Barcelona last year and was a strategy that should have won the game, even putting aside the penalties not given. Barcelona only scored one goal in 186 minutes of football. Liverpool have had similar results against Barcelona (albeit a different Barcelona side) using a similar conservative strategy.

Of course, defensively Arsenal have very different resources to draw on than Chelsea or Liverpool, and with a totally different mindset at the club you couldn’t expect them to try and play the same game. But there is a middle ground. Arsenal’s defence played too high up the pitch and was prone to lapses of concentration. The third Barcelona goal just showed what kind of suicide the Arsenal defence was committing by holding such a high line: Vermaelen missed a header on the halfway line and Messi broke free with only Denilson – not a centre or full back – able to make any kind of ground on him. Insane.

Last night’s game entirely exonerated Hiddink’s approach to the semi-final last year (if that needed doing), which focused first on stopping the better team and then on trying to steal a goal. It worked, and should have seen Chelsea into a second consecutive Champions League final. It wasn’t to be, and in the end the best team won the tournament.

Winning a trophy might help
None of the players turning out for Arsenal last night, or any of their injured stars, have won anything. Wenger’s insistence on playing his (even) younger players in Carling Cup games might just be another unnecessary impediment. Surely winning a trophy like that – which has been well within the realms of possibility over the last few years - can breathe confidence and allow the team to gain an experience of winning together that will support them in the biggest games elsewhere? Just a thought.

‘Best player in the world’™
Messi is the best player in the world, and by a country mile. When you watch him finish pretty much every chance he gets, score a hat-trick in 21 minutes against a good Arsenal side and consistently take on and beat three men it’s difficult to hold the defeat against Arsenal.

But amidst Sky Sports’ endless Messi love-in after the game (Keys could barely contain himself), their constant referral to his ‘masterclass’ and being the greatest player in the world, you couldn’t help but see the irony. Just three days before, and for the preceding three months, the same people had been continually banging on about how Rooney was the best player in the world. Messi put that myth to rest.

But memories are short, and in a few weeks time we’ll all be swept up in Rooney-Engerland fever again. Is it too much to ask for pundits to be a bit more open-minded?

Oh, and you CAN stop him 
For all the talk that Messi is ‘unplayable’. Nonsense. Sure, the best players in the world can create a moment of magic and do almost anything. But generally speaking their defensive counterparts can achieve similar feats at the back. Did Messi have a kick over the two legs of last year’s semi-final? No. In the first leg, Jose Bosingwa, a right-back playing out of position on the left, marked him out of the game. And I can barely recall him playing at Stamford Bridge.

Yes, twelve months on and I’m still bitter…

Comments

[ABDIE]

I AM STII BITTER MYSELF AND I WILL FOREVER HATE TOM HENNING OVREBO FOR HIS SILLY REFEERING......... I LIKE THE ARTICLE THOUGH- GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD ONE

[hoofen]

Fair article.
I think most Arsenal fans realise our defensive frailties, it's a shame that we haven't addressed it yet. I also think we need to improve our overall work ethic...

But were not to far off hopefully a few tweeks and we can seriously challenge.

[Paul W13]

Brilliant article mate. Still not convinced that taking Drogba off was the right call in last year's CL semi-final (I think they thought he was injured, but his protestations as he came off the pitch suggested otherwise), but tactically Hiddink had Barca down to a tee. Let's not try and pretend that last night's Barca team was better than the one Chelsea played either: far from it. The team that Chelsea outwitted over 2 legs were far superior to the one Arsenal played last night.

[dan]

They were missing half their best team and had Silvestre who i'm reliably informed is their 5th choice CB.

I actually didn't think Barca looked like threatening their goal other than when Messi touched the ball. They pass it around the defence and midfield alot but only Messi penetrated.

[East Stand Upper 61]

As an Arsenal fan, I enjoyed a rival supporter's refreshingly objective, insightful perspective on the team and its approach.

[Paul W13]

"I actually didn't think Barca looked like threatening their goal other than when Messi touched the ball. They pass it around the defence and midfield alot but only Messi penetrated."

Eto'o sold, Ibrahimovic injured, Iniesta injured, Henry for the knacker's yard. That's rather a lot of talent MIA.

[Matthew Zarb-Cousin]

Cesc, Arshavin, Gallas, Van Persie.

How would Chelsea have fared without Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Anelka?

[dan]

Eto'o sold?? Henry knackers?

How is that in any way applicable?

That's like saying Arsenal were without Bergkamp and Pires.

[bridgeviews.co.uk]

Thanks for the comments everyoone.

Matthew - you make a fair point. I guess though that in this post I'm not so much arguing about whether Arsenal or Chelsea should have been capable of winning - just that Arsenal's tactics and approach didn't, and don't, do you any favours. In addition, the game (and the resulting chatter) should tell us something about what tweaks Arsenal need to make to take the next step.

Even if the Chelsea players you mention were injured, I still reckon that Barcelona team would never score 4 against us, precisely because we wouldn't be tempted to make the same mistakes. It's all 'what ifs' though...

It's an entirely separate point to the post, but Chelsea are well used to injury crisis, like Arsenal. We've been missing Bosingwa all season, Essien for most of it, Ashley Cole's been out for months, Ivanovic has been out for a month now, Carvalho had recurring problems and Joe Cole's barely been fit for the last couple of years.

Despite missing three of our first choice back four and Essien at the weekend, we still beat Man Utd at Old Trafford at the weekend...

[bridgeviews.co.uk]

Dan - I might be mistaken, but Paul could be comparing the team Arsenal faced with the team Chelsea faced last year.

Barcelona were missing a lot of players (either injured or left the team) against Arsenal when compared to their game against us. They still 'threatened' enough to score 4.

At Stamford Bridge last season, that superior side managed just 1 shot on target. Sadly for us, it went in.

[ROS]

at least wenger is trying to build a team up from early age to play together for a long time to reach and hopefully play like barca when they mature into experience players which they are doing quite well,and not rely on millions frm rich owners. wengers way is the right way.chelsea cant buy the champs league and wont do it next year either chavs and manks have got old players who will soon need replacing ARSENAL FOREVER.

[buddha9]

All this endlss media wenger praise doesn't do arsenal any favours IMHO - - it ignores several areas in which he is clearly deficient:
- building a team - cosntructing a team isn't only the players you have its also about assembling a squad over a few years of buying and selling that can compete despite injuris - WEnger had to go and buy Campbell in the january sales because he didn't have enough c/halfs - check theirs against either man u or chelsea. all managers buy and sell and build their squad up slowly so they have as much cover and competition for places as they can - its SOP in div 2 teams

- tactically he has always been nieve - they've never had a plan B - evry year they loose vital games because of it - last night defensively they were tactically inept.

- physically and mentally a bit soft - here again this is something that a manager can work on and develop in gym and through tailored fitness regimes - also winning things helps - but Wenger doesn't seem to want to do that.

If i was arsenal fan which I'm not i'd be very frustrated with AW - to be honest i don't think that the teams improved to any substantial degree over the last few years.

Anway its his problem and as a partisan chelsea fan long may he reign. Because frankly and brutually i don't think they are goign to get any better under him

[AfriX]

as Arsenal fan I cannot dispute any of these points raised here. In addition I have no idea how Arsene Wenger developed a phobia of buying fit players in their mid to late 20s? It's a luxury to have both Silvestre and Campbell, 1 old head is fine but two crocked old payers are ridiculous !

[Brett Thomas]

Good, mature discussion apart from the Easter holidays 12.28 comment. Shouldn't you be revising for your English exam? It's quite interesting to see the 'well, they were the best team in the world' reaction in the media. Compare that to last year when we deserved to beat Barcelona with a stronger team than they played Arsenal with last night (e.g. Iniesta and Eto'o both played). Another point about this young Arsenal side is that the epithet didn't apply last night when the average age was 26. Their youngest player - Billy Whizz - is now 21 and still going nowhere very fast.

[frederic]

It's funny the way Arsenal fans defend Arsene Wenger and his "great plan" of developping young players into the best team ever seen on earth... I am guessing it is every coaches dream as a kid, and it's nice to see one actually trying. The fact is, Arsenal has been at the summit of England football, with the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Vieira, etc... how do you jump from a winning formula like that to your childish dreams? I call it complacency of an old man who believes he's achieved more than enough (with the invicibles) and does not need to prove himself anymore. So he is free to try whatever he feels like, a real rock star, parading naked in his hotel room, windows wide open is the picture I have in mind...yes Arsene is a great coach, and yes the idea of developping the greatest team ever with just young talents is a wonderful idea... But all this takes time, and young talents are being born every day. By the time arsene's babies are ready to storm the world, everyone would have offered them five times what they will be offered by stingy arsenal, and then what? Start from scratch again for Wenger? Get real, this is football, and as soon as Van Persie, arshavin, fabregas and Gallas can run again and score, they will be called by bigger spending clubs like real, chelsea, manu, barcelona or inter...You need to buy the best to be competitive, and arsenal will look like a shopping center for young talents soon. It's time to face reality. Money rules and big players like messi, are worth the money you pay for them, for moments like yesterday's game where they can score four goals for you in a champions league quarter final...wake up wenger.

[Deirdre St John]

Great article, shows intelligent perspective. Don't think Jose will approach the next round with such blind stupidity. Sure, Messi is undoubtedly the best player in the world right now but close them down in midfield, cut off his supply and you might just see a different game altogether.
Chelsea till I die!

[springy]

frederic, I agree,we kept Messi fairly quiet last year. How much longer do Wenger's kids want? We've heard for ages now that he wants to build a super team with kids and yet, talented as they are they are miles away from a great team and I'm afraid looking like "Morning Glory" players.