After a 2-1 loss at the Emirates in the FA Cup to Watford, in which the 90 minutes seemed to play with an air of inevitability, Arsenal face the task of travelling to the Camp Nou to take on the mighty Barcelona, already 2-0 down on aggregate.
The defeat on Sunday just summed up everything wrong with the team. Players not linking together – the fluidity which has defined the Arsene Wenger era appears to elude the side this season – the opposition scoring from their few shots on goal, and of course, a poor conversion rate. The Gunners only began to play once Danny Welbeck came on, unfortunately, that did not leave enough time to rescue the game.
Barcelona go into this game having not lost for the last 37 – MSN are still running riot in the attack while their midfield dominance means teams hardly have a chance to attack, if any. However, their defence is occasionally weak, and the way the team played against them at the Emirates, matching them for 70 minutes and creating a fair few opportunities, it appears that should the Arsenal attack click, they may just be able to take advantage of Barcelona’s defence.
The one positive that has come out of this spell is the effectiveness of the Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny midfield partnership. Although rather ineffective at home when we need to dominate the ball, this won’t be an issue at the Camp Nou when the two combative midfielders can do their job of recovering and recycling the ball.
Match facts
– Arsenal have kept one clean sheet in their last six games.
– Arsenal have not scored more than two goals in a game since the fixture against Liverpool on 13th January.
– Gerard Pique has a pass completion of over 90%, and the majority of the Catalan side are over 85%.
Team news
– The Boss confirmed that Calum Chambers would be left at home, while Laurent Koscielny was brought into the squad, so he’s likely to start. Petr Cech, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey remain out.
– Barcelona will be without Gerard Pique due to suspension.
Predicted XI
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Berllein, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Elneny; Campbell, Ozil, Alexis; Welbeck.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen, Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
