How Arsenal Can Defeat Barcelona

DEFENDING DEEP

Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world when it comes to holding on to the ball and passing opponents to death but we all know the kings of the passing game.

We were giving a baptism of fire in the first 30 minutes during the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals last year at the emirates and I still remember how I was beleaguered by the Barcelona fans around me that night.

To play Barcelona, you have to dump the reliance on offside traps and high line defending. If you do that, you will get ANNIHILATED as every member of that Barcelona team can pick out a very decent pass starting with Gerard Pique.

Chelsea always defend deep, they never allow John Mikel Obi to cross the line and the discipline and mobility of Essien and Lampard have over the years helped them to become a tough nut to crack for Barcelona. I am sure you will remember the games under Mourinho and the tough game Guus Hiddink gave them two seasons ago.

For us to effectively lie deep, we need a very fast defensive midfielder in the mould of Mascherano, Lassana Diarra, Blaise Matuidi, Mathew Flamini or Darren Fletcher to partner Alex Song. With this, Wenger also has to instruct Song to sit and stop trying to be the new Fabregas by roaming forward.

Most teams that have given Barcelona problems in the past have had to do it with two standard defensive midfielders first before even thinking about defending in group. Inter had Esteban Cambiasso and Thiago Motta, Chelsea had Mikel Obi, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien, and if you remember how Spain had problems in creating too many opportunities against Holland- the Dutch had Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel.

NO SLOW CENTRE FORWARDS

As far as I am concerned, Chamakh is a slow center forward; the way he reacted to the opportunity presented to him via the parried shot from Samir Nasri by Van der sar in the United game says a lot about his striker's instincts.

Van Persie is highly technical but still, he is not quick and we all know how fast Barcelona are at covering up when they lose the ball. They work harder off the ball than when they actually have it.

And as for Nicklas Bandtner, I believe you know what's on my mind.

That brings us to the last recognizable forward in the team- Theo Walcott. I am not a big fan of his but boy, this kid has got fearsome and raw pace. Ask Fabio Capello and you will get a more robust answer.

We can all say he's got no football brain (which looks true at times) but when he is let through on goal, you will need a Bugatti Veyron to catch him.

I will play five hard working midfielders with Cesc dropping deep and will deploy Theo Walcott as a decoy striker. Do not be deceived, Barcelona do not have a striker, David Villa plays as the sixth midfielder in their 4-3-3 (4-6-0) formation.

That fella drops deep and intelligently picks up lapses in defenses to make runs. And why won't you run when you have the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro and Busquests trying to pick you up.

HARD WORK AND DISCIPLINE

No team has ever beating Barcelona by just strolling around or even giving 100%. You've got to give 120%.
Arsene Wenger should forget all about the Arsenal way against Barcelona, it will never work. He needs to change his strategy and turn every player into hardworking machines.

Mourinho turned Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder into defensive personnel last year against Barcelona and it paid off. If a talented player like Arshavin won't be able to work hard for the team off the ball, he should be dropped.

Talking about Andre Arshavin, his laziness has brutally exposed the lapses of Gael Clichy in our 4-3-3 formation. He plays a very risky game with his tricks and when they don't go his way, we lose possession and he does not track back.

If you do that against Barcelona, you will be comprehensively punished.

If Wenger uses the pace of Walcott well, the hard work of the team can pay off because if you ever manage to dispossess Barcelona off the ball (which is very hard), you must have at least a very quick attacker running behind the defense. Walcott is a suitable candidate for that role as he showed the last time we met.

MORE SUPPORT FOR GEAL CLICHY

With the form Gael Clichy is in, the current best player in the world will surely be licking his lips. I used to like Clichy but since that costly mistake at St. Andrews, he does seem to consistently experience brain freezes that make him commit basic errors.

Bacary Sagna is a decent defender so teams do not really like to attack us through the left flank. If Arsene can look for that very fast defensive midfielder to partner song, he can help Clichy soothe his pain.

DO NOT THINK OF MAN MARKING MESSI

Very few teams understand this. Never try to man mark Messi or single him out as the danger man. If you do, you will have three to four of your men on him every time and this will leave you with six players against nine Barcelona players. When he is heavily marked, he simply picks out a clever pass to an unmarked player.

Every Barcelona player has a way of popping into the box without you knowing. Remember Xavi's goal against Real Madrid and the beautiful goal Gerard Pique scored against Inter Milan.

Effective deep Zonal marking will be appropriate in dealing with the fluidity of the Barcelona team.

JANUARY RECRUITMENTS

Okay Arsene, we all know what you will likely say when the January transfer window opens but please, we need a very good defensive midfielder and a reliable center back to parner Thomas Vermaelen. Laurent Kocielny and Sebastian Squilacci look like boys brought in to understudy a William Gallas.

If I had my way, I will request for a very quick striker but I know Wenger, he will probably run down the list of strikers we have already adding Bendtner, Vela and Jay Emmanuel Thomas.

If these plans can be carefully executed, we stand a chance of giving Barcelona a good game. I have given Barcelona a lot of respect in this write up and that is simply because they deserve it. Don't we just hate it when they tear teams apart?

The midfield combination of Andreas Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez is the best I have seen since I started watching football.

February 2011 seems to me like February 2015 now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mondiu_Jaiyesimi