Arsenal Grab 2 Late Goals to Square the Tie

Barcelona and Arsenal played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Champion's League Quarterfinal. Barcelona came out from the start pressing hard and nearly scoring within the first minute. Almunia had four great reaction saves to keep Barcelona out. Barcelona had 70% of the possession in the first half and should have been 3 up at half. However, the half ended nil-nil. William Gallas and Andrey Arshavin were both forced out in the second half thru injury and Gallas definitely looks like he had the more serious one and wont be playing in the second leg. The other big story was Cesc picking up a yellow for a silly challenge though it was a harsh yellow which will see him miss the next leg.

The second half start brilliantly for Barcelona with Xavi finding Zlatan Ibrahimavic in acres of space and Ibra cooly floating the ball over Almunia into the net. Almunia can definitely be blamed for this one as he started to come out then decided to stay in and was caught in between but it was a brilliant finish from the Swede. Barcelona continued to control and Xavi found Ibra in space again in a nearly identical play with Ibra finishing in the top netting for his double and a Barcelona 2-0 lead. The game and entire tie seemed over as Barcelona had the 2 away goals. However, Theo Walcott was introduced and had an immediate impact causing problems down the right and finally finishing to get Arsenal back in the game. Arsenal started to gain confidence and took control and leveled the game at two after Cesc was brought down in the box by Puyol. The cross came in from Walcott and was deflected to Bedtner who headed to Cesc who was then impeded by Puyol. Puyol received a straight red for this and will miss the return leg as well. Pique will also miss the next leg due to his yellow which also looked harsh. Cesc finished the penalty and looked to hurt his knee. He hobbled on the rest of the way but will be out for a while it looks like.

Personally I would have to say Barca deserved better but in the end didn't finish well enough to get the win. This tie could have been over 20 minutes into the game if not for Almunia. Arsenal took their chances well and finished them.

The return leg will be on Tuesday at the Camp Nou. I fully expect Barcelona to move on since Arsenal have to win or score at least 2 in the Nou Camp which is difficult to do. However, both Pique and Puyol will miss out and Iniesta looks to miss the next match as well. Cesc and Gallas will both be missing for Arsenal and Arshavin may miss as well. Seeing how much Barcelona dominated the game and controlled the game I expect more of the same.

I do want to say that I am disappointed in Messi. He looked uninterested most of the game and only had 2 good chances both in the first 20 minutes. After that he had touches but nothing that looked dangerous. I expect better from him in the second leg. I also have to say that Barcelona would have much preferred this game to end 2-0 for more reasons than advancing but also because they play Real Madrid on the 11th. Winning 2-0 at the Emirates would have allowed Barcelona to possibly rest some players before that clash.

In other news, Wayne Rooney has a sprained ankle and will with next weeks game against Bayern Munich

Arsenal vs. Porto

Well with Arsenal already putting a 4 spot on Porto I decided to write this before the game actually ends. Arsenal!!!!! Just brilliant. Arsenal have always been a very gifted attacking minded team (similar to Barcelona) and this game was no different. You could definitely see at times when Arsenal looked suspect at the back and they will definitely be looking for some center back help come this summer but when you attack this well who needs defense?

Arsenal play the formation that I wish the US men's national team would employ and they did it to perfection tonight. With Sagna and Clichy making overlapping runs all night and creating havoc was fun to watch. Diaby and Song played great in their defensive/holding midfield roles. And Nasri, Arshavin, and Rosisky played great in their attacking/wing roles. Nasri had a brilliant game even if he didn't score the goal of the week for Arsenal's third. Arshavin has brilliant in his touches and runs and attacks and created two of the goals and should have scored one himself. My only problem with Arshavin is his tendency to get lazy at times during the game but he more than made up for it. Bendtner scored the first two but really he did nothing more than be in the right place at the right time (which is a hard thing to do). Eboue's goal was created by Arshavin making a great run and laying it off for Eboue to make a move and then slot it home. Porto looked slow and behind the ball most of the game but did have some nice moments with Hulk and Varela working well together and making moves on their own.

Arsenal look like a dangerous team in this competition and have some amazing talent in their squad, though it is mainly in the attack. Their defense still leaves a lot to be desired but when you produce this type of performance without Cesc you can rest a little easier.

Really looking forward to tomorrow's games. Lets see if Real can reverse their tie with Lyon and how Man U does at home with the lead against AC Milan