I am still high after today’s game. Very proud that I am an ARSENAL fan.
Here’s a great article that I found:
Forget Barcelona, Arsenal are the finest footballing team in the world - ‘team’ being the operative word. With Barcelona it’s all about Ronaldinho who, quite rightly, is hailed as the most entertaining player in the world. But Arsenal are the most entertaining TEAM in the world and that is irrefutable. Every player fights for the other not for individual adulation, personal gain or to climb aboard the showboat, but fundamentally for the benefit of the team.
Once again this burgeoning group of players has defied the pundits – ever eager to write them off - with a performance that surpassed that of their last great result only a few weeks ago against Real Madrid. Set against an opponent that sits eight points clear at the top of Serie A, and widely regarded as the hardest in Europe to beat, this outlandish Arsenal team made them resemble a mid-table Premiership outfit. Juventus are renowned for their ruthless efficiency and ability to grind out a result against even the most potent attacks in the world. Last night though, they had no answer to the pace, power, skill, and downright brilliance of Arsenal.
No doubt the critics will attribute the result to a rare poor showing from Juventus rather than a superb Arsenal display but they will only be fooling themselves. The fact is that no side in the world could have coped with Arsenal last night. They simply outclassed one of the best teams in Europe and in doing so, demonstrated why Arsène Wenger has entrusted his players throughout the season, despite a period of unquestionable mediocrity.
In every position Arsenal had a hero, a warrior.
Jens Lehmann hardly saw a shot fired his way from two of the most feared strikers in Europe, their efforts nullified by Phillipe Senderos and the immense Kolo Touré. The industrious Mathieu Flamini and magnificent Emmanuel Eboue reduced Mauro Camoranesi and Adrian Mutu to ineffectual bystanders, the former constantly being lured into fouls and subsequently sent off. The supposed best midfield pairing in the world, Patrick Vieira and Emerson, were totally overrun and outclassed by Robért Píres and the fearless Cesc Fabregas. One of the tightest defences in Europe was outpaced and outskilled by the speed and flair of José Antonio Reyes and Thierry Henry. Moreover, Fabio Capello, often touted as a tactical genius, was made to look like an amateur by Arsène Wenger. There simply was no stopping Arsenal last night.
In the lead up to the encounter with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, it was doubtful that a then ramshackle collection of seemingly done for veterans and insubstantial youngsters would ever be able to pull off such a performance or result at the highest level. Only the staunchest believer could have hoped that the once flimsy Arsenal defence could maintain a clean sheet over 180 minutes against the deadly array of attacking talent possessed by Real Madrid. A win against the Spanish behemoths required a huge step up for each and every one of the Arsenal players and they duly delivered. Whether such a performance was organic or a requisite response to the criticism fairly attributed to them does not matter now – the players stood up to be counted and they stood united.
However, when drawn against Juventus it was obvious that yet another level would need to be reached in order to progress to the semi-final’s. The time and space given to Arsenal by Real Madrid, which enabled them to play their free-flowing passing game, was not expected to be afforded to them by a Juventus side that specialises in frustrating their opposition. Though yet again when called upon, Arsène Wenger’s men provided the goods and did so with electrifying effect.
The Real Madrid clash was a make or break game for Arsenal this season. Defeat and possible embarrassment could have led to the wholesale break-up of the squad with various players disembodied and disillusioned. However, the resulting win has left the squad looking as spirited and unified as it has ever been. Robért Píres and Freddie Ljungberg, who took much of the disapproval as senior players failing to perform, have looked rejuvenated in recent weeks and have both shown glimpses of their former selves. Spanish duo José Antonio Reyes and Cesc Fabregas were clearly players of prodigious talent but it was looking questionable if they could translate such ability to this team.
Was it too soon for Fabregas, still only 18, to be burdened with the role of replacing one of the greatest midfielders of the modern era? Arsène Wenger didn’t seem to think so and just at the right time, Fabregas has repayed such faith from his manager. It was sad to see Vieira look a shade of his former self and the melancholic expression on his face at the end of the game would have genuinely tugged at the emotions of all true Arsenal fans. Wenger’s decision to sell him now appears justified but how much better, if at all, Arsenal would be with their formerly imperious leader alongside Fabregas, we will never know.
So do Arsenal now have anything to fear in the Champions League and just how much further can they improve? Barring disaster against Juventus in Turin, they should face Inter Milan in the semi-final, providing they beat an average Villarreal. While the return leg at the Stadio Delle Alpi is sure to be a far tougher affair than last night, the last two visits to Italy have produced 3-1 and 5-1 wins for Arsenal. Arsenal can always be expected to find the net at least once and they have conceded only twice in the Champions League all season so is it asking too much of Juventus to match that in one game alone? And let’s not forget the win against Real Madrid came away at the Bernabeu.
Juventus were lucky to emerge victorious against Werder Bremen in the last sixteen and there are no grounds for assuming that the German outfit are anywhere near as good as Arsenal at their best. Inter are 13 points behind Juventus in Serie A and have only one player who would arguably get into their team – the formidable Brazilian striker Adriano, and even he has been out of form this year. Inter are no better now than the side that Arsenal thrashed 5-1 at the San Siro in 2003.
After Inter is likely to come either AC Milan or Barcelona. Milan are probably the strongest side in Italy even though the table doesn’t suggest so. They are as defensively solid as Juventus and offer a far greater attacking threat with their trident strikeforce of Andrei Shevchenko, Alberto Gilardino and Ricardo Kaka. A more open game would be likely but again, this would provide Arsenal with the space they desire. If they can eliminate Juventus, is there any reason they will be unable to conquer AC Milan?
If Barcelona make the final then we would undoubtedly have the perfect conditions for what could be the finest exhibition of football seen in Champions League history. Though while possibly jumping the gun after only two outstanding victories, are Barcelona really better than an on-form Arsenal? Is Ronaldinho a greater player than Henry? Are Giuly, Messi and Deco more skillful than Reyes, Píres and Hleb? Is either Edmilson, Iniesta, Motta or Van Bommel a superior passer of the ball than Fabregas? Who would you rather have defending your goal - Oleguer, Puyol, Marquez and Van Bronckhorst or Eboue, Touré, Senderos and Flamini? Which set of players would you rely upon to battle for each other for 90 minutes in pursuit of glory for their club and their fans?
Were Arsenal indeed to go all the way and win the Champions League then they won’t have done it playing dull, defensive anti-football. They won’t have dived and cheated or rode their luck to a penalty shootout win. They will have earned the title of Champions of Europe playing the game the way it is meant to be played and will have fulfilled the purpose of this tournament. It is often said that the best team doesn’t necessarily win the Champions League. Should Arsenal manage to do so, then it will be in no doubt that the best team most definitely did win. Though whatever happens, they will still be regarded as the Champions of Football.
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