Barcelona v. Arsenal (UEFA Champions' League, 1st knock-out round, 2nd leg) 3/8/11. Match Thread

Well, he was clearly off by about a yard or maybe a tad less but the thing is a player can't see what's behind him even if he can see the player in front, i.e. the guy who was on his right from which direction the ball came. The ball was knocked forward and the ref blew about a second before he shot so he might have suspected he was but the point is, could he be SURE he heard the whistle before giving him the yellow card.

Bearing in mind the amount of noise and the importance of the game, (the two tend to go together), it would have been better to have just given him a telling off and added some time on.

Er....

I was gonna say. I thought you were ahead at that point.

as for all this stuff about what might have happened. It could just as well be argued that you might have hit them on the break as you almost managed to do anyway with Bendtner's chance. Let's get it straight... if Bendtner hits the ball first time and it goes in, you go through the tie, even DOWN to 10 men.

But, tbh, I think the bigger problem isn't the glaring individual mistakes the ref made. It was all the little niggly stuff he let them get away with, elbowing people off the ball, Alves trying to block off RVP whilst ignoring the ball and not being punished for it whilst RVP gets his first yellow for his lashing out in retaliation and he IS carded for it. All the rolling around and asking for cards which is NEVER punished DESPITE clear instructions from UEFA and FIFA that it should be. The fact that you weren't allowed to string any passes together because they were fouling you all the time with no punishment.

The bottom line is the ref was clearly biased and, unfortunately, it's only the BIG stuff people will notice.

 

It's games like this that make me like our team even more.

Our team doesn't run stories in the newspaper trying to lower the asking price for players.
Our team doesn't meet with players in back rooms to tap them up.
Our players don't shoot people at the practice facility.
Our players don't roll around like they've been shot at the drop of a foul.
Our players don't dive more than any other team's players do.
Our players don't try to kick the other team off the pitch.

We're the good guys. Never forget that.

 

Legend.

 

How is the Alves tackle on Nasri at 24' not a yellow at least, from the back and scissored the leg. I hope somebody breaks both of Mess's legss, f'in Barcelona deserves it.

 

did they meet the referee in the chaning room again to discuss the rules that barca like? maybe this one was photographed in a barcelona t shirt before the match again. its a joke how these things happen every year and no one can do a thing about it, and uefa never get called into question.

 

how about alves getting kicked on the bottom of his foot... immediately grab the top of his shin, and act like he got a rake down the front...

that guy is worse than busquets.. what a joker ********ing programme they run down there.

 

Barcelona; The Jack Russell Terriers of world football.

 

Great game guys.

hopefully chico doesn't score as much as much as he does and win at least the Premier league.

 

Man, I just saw the highlights of Bendtners last chance from Wilshere near the end.

GOD DAMN how do you NOT EVEN GET A SHOT OFF. Both defenders are behind you and you let yourself get tackled from behind, in the box, without getting a shot off. Try and 5 hole the keeper at least..

SIGH. As many games as Bendtner's head has saved us in the past, I'm done with him. He's not nearly as world class and Wenger thinks.

 

I never really complain about calls, (I'll expect refs to call a perfect game when someone plays a perfect game), but van Persie's second card was as bad a call as I've ever seen. Robin was shooting as fast as he could because he was desperate to make some contribution after barely touching the ball all game. To change the game like that, ridiculous, preposterous, shitty.

Given that Cesc and van Persie were hurt and Diaby was playing in Song's place, I am OK with the team decision to try and absorb the pressure. Barca is the greatest team on the planet and we gave away the ball way too much to be able to mount any pressure. I get that Rosicky was maybe a better option for defending, but even if we are going to sit back and wait, we needed some other option than a hurt van Persie and Nasri. I would have played Arshavin instead of Rosicky.

I thought the guys played as fine a game as could be played under the circumstances, and we were gifted with a goal, which could have made all the difference in the world (sometimes it's better to be lucky than good).

And for all those bashing Cesc, knock it off. That photo so irresponsibly posted is awful and the replay clearly shows him grimmacing. Cesc had a poor game, yes, but we never really had the ball at all and I have to believe Cesc was not anything close to fit today. He may hie off to Barca at the end of the season, but this game alone shouldn't change any perceptions of him to Arsenal fans. He was hurt and had a sucky game.

 

meh.. he had 1 chance.. could of been a hero, these things happen.
cant let that bother me in the slightest.

 

Yeah, after that I yelled WTF is RVP!!! You HAVE to get a shot off then. I don't care if skies above the bar, or wherever he was at the time. Don't handle it...kick the ********ing ball! But I'd have to go back and look at the first touch he got... He might not have had the chance...

 

honestly, did you really think arsenal supporters want to see you type this nonsense?

if you said nothing, it would of been better.

 

Phishy, what is that app?

 

That had to be the most disappointing match for me in awhile. Everything went wrong. Ug.

 

As for Cesc, i'll give him the benefit of the doubt. he's our captain, he deserves it. The only thing I blame him today was the stupid back heel that he made. That had nothing to do with being injured or not... he didn't get his brain injured so his decision was completely wrong there.... he had better options than just gave away the ball in that zone. Anyway, if he's really injured, i'm behind him. Can't blame him for that. He might went into the game with less than 100% fit. So did RVP. We all want to win this but things are not always going our way.
We should move on and focus on what we have left this year. EPL and FA. It's doable. Very likely.
Good job boys. Now please win us the league. No more slip up.....

 

I officially detest Mes Que un Culo more than I do the Spuds. At least with the Spuds, they don't pretend to be anything other than what they are.
Barca = Disingenuous Cheating Bastards. F**k them and their "Holier Than Thou" attitude.

 

looks like you need to charge your battery...

 

Go home fanboy. No one wants you here you humorless git.
And shove your neg-rep where the sun don't shine.

 

The referee didn´t do a good job, but that's not why Arsenal lost. Outclassed.

It was a penalty in the first half when diaby took messi down

VP should not have gone off.

Almunia was great, Cesc was awful, Wilshare did very well.

 

Not sure we should write him off but, at this level, you must have a better first touch and test the keeper in that situation. How crazy would it have been to go through with ONE shot on goal in this match?

 

I officially detest Mes Que un Culo more than I do the Spuds. At least with the Spuds, they don't pretend to be anything other than what they are.
Barca = Disingenuous Cheating Bastards. F**k them and their "Holier Than Thou" attitude.

 

I am a neutral, I was hoping for an excellent game like the last one but I was utterly disappointed. This was a lopsided, slow and soul-less game. Only good thing I saw was the silky goals by Messi and Xavi.