Arsenal learned lesson against Barcelona – NRK

It was 12 seconds that summed up the current Barcelona edition is all about.

70:39: Neymar gets a clearance inside his own half, turning and sending a through ball to Luis Suárez on the left which puts Per Mertesacker out of play.

70:44: While Laurent Koscielny pulled out at odds of Suárez sprinter Neymar into the room just behind that Mertesacker has left – and get the ball of Suárez.

70:48: Neymar rushes forward and puts on Nacho Monreal, before playing to a completely free Messi.

70:51: the first touchet from Messi waiting out Petr Čech. The second puts the ball in the net.

Eleven touches, three passes, one lovely break. Forget the worn tiki-taka-term and Xavis old pass records. There are such quick attack Barça have become so good at .

Solid battle plan

Magnificent goal was the turning point in quarter final in London yesterday.

Arsenal knew that 1-0 would be tough at Camp Nou and then sent players forward, before Mathieu Flamini swept down Messi inside the area and caused the 2-0 goal. Threatened to fine Barça scored more.

Ironically it was just a counter Arsenal had hoped to score on.

especially sour for Arsene Wenger was that the defensive battle plan largely had worked. Arsenal were initially high and let himself so deeply in the field, Olivier Giroud fell and did rough work in right-back zone, while Mesut Özil tackled Messi just outside his own sekstenmeter.

One big chance to each of the teams before the break was good news. This could go.

In fact Barça seemed nearly as sharp as they can be. One could say that the old “pass carousel” had not come in time.

Impatience

But it does it also not be under Luis Enrique. It is not through endless passes that Barça wins the day, but direct combination between the three premier.

This is nothing new. Barça’s first big away win with the current system, 3-2 match against Atletico Madrid in January 2015, when they counterattacked Diego Simeone’s team completely.

Thus a wonder how Arsenal could shoot himself foot by giving away such large room.

Wenger felt the players wanted to chase opening goal, although 0-0 would have been a good result. “Maybe we felt that we could win the match and we lost cautious public in defense,” he said.

“What we knew was that it would be important not to give them a break …”

Unpaid Gunners

But even this explains all the mistakes in the defensive positioning. When Neymar got the ball, both center-backs at Barça half; a hopeless move when Messi and Suárez is close by.

Large, slow Mertesacker lay up on 60 meters.

Such judgments were bitter with the loss of Wenger: That plan established game had worked, but the concentration smoke on the counter attack.

“We were extremely guilty,” he said. “We have no excuses on that goal.”

At the same time credit go to Barça. Long have they been Europe’s best teams in established attacks, while others have mastered counterattacks.

Now they have become the best in both. And Wenger will not be the last man to experience that.