Barcelona v Arsenal: tactical preview
Possible starting line-ups
In terms of injuries, this is a strangely similar situation to the second leg at the Nou Camp last year.
Barcelona went into that game with Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol unavailable (the same as today) – whilst Arsenal were without Alex Song, and had various attacking players out injured, or half-fit. The surprise inclusion of Robin van Persie in the travelling squad, and the likelihood that Cesc Fabregas will start after a recovering from a short injury means the similarity may apply slightly less to Arsenal. They are in a stronger position than last year.
That also applies to the tie as whole, of course. Arsenal went to the Nou Camp needing to score last year – here they would be content with a 0-0. Not that anyone expects that scoreline, though, and even Arsene Wenger said yesterday that “It is a little bit of an illusion to go to Barcelona and think they will not score at all.” Arsenal will need goals.
With so many injuries, the tactical element of the build-up is dictated by replacements and how that will affect the sides’ way of playing.
Barcelona selection
The absence of both Barcelona’s first-choice centre-backs means a mini-crisis for Pep Guardiola. Last year’s combination at the back was Rafael Marquez and Gabriel Milito, but today he looks set to turn to Eric Abidal and Sergio Busuqets. Abidal has been excellent in recent weeks in Puyol’s absence, and with Arsenal missing Theo Walcott, Guardiola won’t be as worried about not having Abidal’s pace at left-back (although, in fairness, Maxwell did well in the first leg).
Busquets has filled in admirably at the back when called upon in the past few months. Often this has been as part of a back three – see last week’s win over Valencia – but he can also play in the centre of the back four. In fact, if Arsenal start van Persie, Busquets might be the perfect man to deal with him. The Dutchman will look to wander into deep positions, and Busquets will happily track him into his more natural deep midfield position. The pace of Abidal would deal with onrushing Arsenal midfielders.
Perhaps the more crucial effect is that Javier Mascherano will start as the holding midfielder. Having looked completely unsuited to Barca’s football at the start of the season, the ex-Liverpool player has played well in recent weeks. He will have a big job here – he must break up counter-attacks without picking up a booking (that completely destroys his game) and his distribution must be tidy. Busquets may step out from the back to provide a better passing option from midfield.
Arsenal selection
The absence of Alex Song – and Wenger’s statement that he won’t use Jack Wilshere as the deepest midfielder – means a choice between Abou Diaby and Denilson. Diaby would bring physicality, but his understanding with Wilshere is highly questionable. Denilson played well against Barcelona last year – his introduction in the first leg last year really helped Arsenal because he was able to retain possession – and this might be the right kind of game for him.
Fabregas looks likely to start, but van Persie is more doubtful. The choice to replace him would be between Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner. Chamakh started the season well but has suffered from a severe loss of confidence recently – something that Bendtner is unlikely to encounter – and the Dane did fairly well at the Nou Camp last year, opening the scoring and leading the line well. He seems a more likely bet.
Unusually for Wenger, his choice of wide players may be heavily dictated by Barcelona’s full-backs. Samir Nasri did a superb job against Dani Alves in the first game – that was emphasised by the fact that when Arshavin came on and played on the left (with Nasri moving inside) Alves was suddenly much more of a force, and Arshavin’s defensive clumsiness resulted in him handballing inside the penalty area when trying to track the Brazilian. Therefore, Nasri is probably the man to start on the left.
Arshavin is very rarely deployed on the right – but in last year’s first leg at the Emirates he was, in order for Arsenal to use his technical ability without exposing him to Alves. Arsenal might be better off with Eboue on the right, however – he provides energy and pace on the break, as well as more defensive discipline.
Strategy
The tactical factors for the game are almost entirely the same as outlined in the preview for the first leg of this tie. How high Arsenal defend is a crucial factor – the high line worked well in the first game, despite conceding a couple of chances to Barcelona through runs in behind the defence. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arsenal defend slightly deeper, and again selection and fitness will be an issue – if Arsenal are nursing half-fit players, they won’t be able to press relentlessly.
Arsenal learnt their first leg lesson – how to press – their second leg task is how to stop Lionel Messi. The truth is that it’s impossible to stop him completely, but Arsenal played into his hands last year with their 4-3-3 system – Messi simply drifted from side to side to evade Denilson, and constantly found space.
In that review, ZM noted that a 4-2-3-1 shape would have helped Arsenal – “But the real issue must be Wenger’s decision to play a 4-1-4-1 shape, with Denilson stranded in front of the defence…with Diaby pushed forward alongside Nasri, Arsenal’s defence was left exposed. Diaby’s natural game is not as a holding midfielder, but if he had played there in a 4-2-3-1 Arsenal would have been tighter in front of their defence, and given less space to Barcelona where they really like to play.”
Arsenal using a 4-2-3-1 this season means that they’re already in a better position to stop Messi.
Barcelona v Arsenal: tactical preview
Excellent preview as usual. It’s very hard to actually call this one, even though I’m far more of a fan of Barca than I am of Arsa. Mascherano, in the games I’ve seen, genuinely slows the team down in a way that can really damage their quick, incisive build-up play. I think he’ll do absolutely fine in his job of limiting Fabregas’ influence (which is why I might’ve considered handing that role to Diaby, and dropping Cesc deeper alongside Wilshere), but Barca will really miss Busquets’ sensational possession-play. I trust Barcelona’s forwards to cause some damage to that weak-looking Arsenal defence, but Arsenal might end up with a lot more of the ball than they normally would at the Nou Camp. It will be intriguing as ever, and far less of a foregone conclusion than last season.
Earlier Masc used to have that slowing affect, watching him for the past month or so, he has been very good.
Interesting stuff. I’m pretty confident that Barca will go through tonight.
The first leg was covered (not by ZM but by the media generally) as some sort of triumph for Arsenal. The reality is they conceeded at home and were very, very lucky not to lose more than 1 goal.
I don’t support either side, but if my team (Celtic) were playing European opposition who created that many clear-cut chances at Celtic Park (not saying that Celtic are as good as Arsenal or Barca), I wouldn’t hold out much hope for the second leg.
I think a large part of Arsenal’s victory at The Emirates came from sheer determination and the fact the crowd were behind them. They managed to turn the tide when Barca looked like they might finish the tie in the first leg, not unlike in the first leg last year. They won’t be in the same position at the Camp Nou. They won’t have the crowd behind them, they’re unlikely to be able to rattle Barca in the same way as they did a 3 weeks ago.
A 2-1 home victory is probably the closest you can get to a result that favours niether team. Arsenal fans and the English media are speaking of Arsenal having the advantage going into this game. Fair enough, they’re ahead and, if nothing changes they’ll go through. But what are the chances of Barca failing to score tonight?
There are no certainties in football, but I would be absolutely amazed if Arsenal kept a clean sheet tonight. The question then becomes; if they can’t rely on protecting their slender advantage for 90 minutes, do they have much chance of matching Barca for goals at the Camp Nou?
The answer, in my opinion, is no. I don’t think it’ll be easy for Barca tonight, but I think it’ll be near impossible for Arsenal.
I largely agree with that, however I was sure Barca would beat us in the first leg and they didn’t so who knows!
Barca started to lose the first leg the very moment (70th ish minute?) that Guardiola for unexplainable reasons decided to take off Villa for Keita. Horrible mistake, not only in hindsight, but also tactically, just inviting the pressure. Pep could have taken off Pedro, bring in Bojan to play in the centre and let Messi take Pedro’s wing instead.
Barcelona should hope no such blunders happen again. If not, they should be able to go through tonight.
The first leg was covered (not by ZM but by the media generally) as some sort of triumph for Arsenal.
—
Hmmm, strange thing to say. It was “some sort of triumph for Arsenal.” A 2-1 triumph in fact.
Since when was a 2-1 victory at home in the first leg a ‘triumph’? It’s not even a particularly good result, it leaves the tie very much in a balance and most people still fancy Barca to progress.
That’s exactly the point I was making; people got caught up in the idea that Arsenal had beaten Barcelona instead of looking at the reality of the tie.
2-1 is a mediocre scoreline to take into any away leg.
I was really just picking up on your choice of words.
Fact of the matter is that it should be looked at in context, which means it’s a great result. It’s hard to beat Barcelona, home or away. A 2-1 win was pretty much above most people’s expectations. We’re in about as good as spot as we could have hoped (although I bet on 3-1 Arsenal but I’m just a crazy dreamer…)
I don’t think that denilson will play tonight, Diaby should play with wilshere in the midlefield
To me this Barca team are the best team I’ve ever seen, but I fancy Arsenal to go through.
Even without Walcott, Barcelona are afraid of Arsenal’s counter attack. The longer the score stays low (by which I mean 1-0 – and perhaps even 2-0 – Barca, as well as 0-0) that will be a factor, and can make the atmosphere nervy. I think Barca are also slightly scared that Arsenal might be the fitter of the two teams.
Of course Arsenal will have to defend very well (which generally, they have been doing -when Djourou’s been available) and they’ll still probably need a bit of luck.
But I really think having less of the ball – and having an understanding that you are going to have less of the ball – concentrates the mind. Arsenal will be more focused on scoring goals when they have the ball than they normally are, and – I think – more focused than Barcelona. And if Arsenal score a couple of goals it’ll be tough for Barca.
Afraid, scared..
You seen to use these words and such analogy a lot.
In all reality, the right word be “somewhat concerned” and thats about it.
Half fit players don’t make a team “more fitter” at Camp Nou.
Eh?
Hi ZonalMarking,
Just a question: was it for a tactical reason that you didn’t mention the possibility for Guardiola to play Adriano for the left full/wingback position? I think it worked pretty well against Valencia (albeit with somewhat a lack of end product from Adriano despite his assist) and Arsenal are likely to play the same way as Valencia, probably a bit more direct but with the same kind of pressing and refusal to concede all the play to Barça. The inclusion of Arshavin in Arsenal’s starting eleven would make this move a bit risky, but Wenger probably won’t go all guns blazing and is likely to keep Arshavin as ammo for the second half. As for Barça, it would give them a serious grip on midfield and would restrain Arsenal to counterattacks only. So what do you think?
Am I the only person who sees how BS these 2 line-ups are?
I can guarantee you neither team will look like this!
Z_M is pretty good at predicting line-ups and formations, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
actually, everyone knows 10/11 of the Barcelona lineup (barring a late injury). the only slight question is whether, as someone else noted, Maxwell or Adriano plays at left back. as for Arsenal, I think Diaby actually has a decent chance of playing instead of Denilson, but otherwise that looks right. even the possible inclusion of Eboue makes sense – it wouldn’t be the first time Wenger has randomly chosen him to play in a big game, despite being in bad form (or no form at all at the moment, he’s barely played in 2011).
How about you tell us your predicted line-up instead of saying how ‘BS’ ZM’s is?
So how would you ‘guarantee’ what the line-ups would look like?
ZM even included two options, it is difficult for Wenger to choose a lineup not matching any of those variants
I’d guess Wenger plays it safe and brings Bendtner and Eboue.
“Busquets may step out from the back to provide a better passing option from midfield.”
Is that likely?
I’ve barely seen Busquets as part of a four-man defence, but when I have he has been pretty disciplined.
If Busquets does come out, that only invites Fabregas, Nasri or Wilshere to make a run from deep.
I’d imagine it would be when Mascherano moves between the centrebacks, Valdes would give it to Busquets instead, yeah?
Before the last match Guardiola was saying ‘I prefer to watch Arsenal than play against them’, now he’s saying ‘we have lots of players like Wilshire – in our B team’ and ‘van Persie is back, oh maybe there’s still time for Walcott to come by private jet’. Very unusual for Guardiola to make catty remarks. Since the last game Barca have only been stumbling through games and have had a big referee’s decision go there way in each game – something they can’t rely on in a European game. Puyol’s injury seems to just go on and on too. I bet Guardiola assumed he’d be back by now but to me it has the hallmarks of it being the injury that eventually retires him. I didn’t give Arsenal a chance after the 2-1 but right now this is a pale Barcelona and it shows in Guardiola’s demeanure. This could be a nervy night for him.
English press has an uncontrollable habbit of over blowing and over glamorizing such issues.
A LOT is lost in translation sometimes(Also that Xavi’s “superior” comment after 1st leg, its not as arrogant sounding in Spanish as in English),
and Pep even though he speaks English i have seen many a times his grammar and sentence structure can be unusual to native English speakers.
He is good at sarcasm as well.
On several occasions against Valencia Busquets brought the ball forward out of defense and Mascherano dropped behind to cover him. Similiar to how Busquets covers the forward runs of Pique. I expect to see Busquets and Mascherano interchange quite a bit depending on the flow of the game.
You had quite a brain washing my friend. I speak catalan, spanish and english and i can assure that pep wasnt saying what your columnists are saying. Pep was pointing that he have no room in barça a-team with xavi, iniesta and busquets ahead of him to fill the role of the creative midfielder. I know it can be harsh but barcelona has been harvesting the role of the creative mf for 20 years. For one barcesque mf that popped in england, the world wont be saved. Maybe in 10 we will be able to compare this kinds of players.
I want to point also that the guide and saviour of arsenal, was the backup of the 2 barça mf at the world cup. Jack is really good but to have him warming the bench up, guardiola preffers players from the b team who have been trained by and for barcelona.
All this controversy is just a way to deviate the focus, not a real new.
About rvp and walcott, pep is just ironic, it was a joke, his fav game is play with the press
I am Spanish too, ovella. I know Guardiola’s style well and he is showing strain. To me there is no doubt. Maybe it is the pain of his back that aggrevates him. It would be normal for him to say ‘Wilshire is a great player, Arsenal are a fantastic team’ but no, he says things that are catty, sarcastic and that are thinly veiled put downs. If it were 3-0 Barca he would be singing a different tune.
Wilshire is a “barcesque player”? Said with the typical arrogance of a Barca fan – as if they invented the role! I remember the Ajax team of 1995 and I remember hearing how they had all the answers when it came to developing young players. Sure, sure – and it continues to this day?! Youth development remains a black art. Messi comes along and the guy who trained him pretends he made him from dust.
Cesc was on the bench behind the Barca midfield at the World Cup – then why did they try to sign him? Why would he be wasting on the bench when they could promote a B player?
Also, I notice you wisely ignored the point that Barca’s form in Europe (no away knock-out wins, Rubin Kazan etc) is poorer than when the RFEF is in control in the league. Funny isn’t it?
I using the cell phone and I didn’t want to explain everything to you.
Ajax problem and dutch for extension is not other than money. More money, best players, more competition, better players. The escape of talents in dutch football is a world appart.
About the comparation of my point with the fail signing of cesc for barca shows me that you undervalue cesc or overvalue jack… or you maybe dont see the things propperly.
And I wont talk about your last statement because now I can assure that you had a brainwash. You live in matrix my friend. Blame everything to the spanish fa is just wordless.
There is no small opponent and the best play in cl.
How is Ajax’s problem money? They won the Champions League with a team of young guys like Kluivert, Davids, Seedorf etc. Those players were sold for fees many multiples of what the youth system that produced them cost. At the time we heard how the wise men of Amsterdam had cracked how to produce these talents – through education, through bestowing the right values on them, asking them to think on the ball etc. But time has shown that actually what Ajax experienced was a bumper crop. What they had then, they have been unable to repeat since. I have heard the same claims about Man Utd, Lyon, even Nantes. Now Barcelona tell us how to make young players. Everybody has to forget Roger, Oscar and Oleguer. Everybody has to forget when the team was stuffed with mediocre foreigners like Rustu, Rochemback and Cristanval. Instead we are to pretend Cruyff gave birth to Guardiola and Van Gaal and Rijkaard kept things warm while he grew up. Bobby Robson never existed.
“On several occasions against Valencia Busquets brought the ball forward out of defense and Mascherano dropped behind to cover him. Similiar to how Busquets covers the forward runs of Pique”
Or like how McCulloch covers the forward runs of Bougherra. Only McCulloch and Bougherra are abysmal.
I would be really looking forward if arsenal losing in the last 15minutes..
and B52 and C29 play together on the field…
arsenal may get a chance to come back by using long pass from the back.
I am not actually sure how Barca’s defence will look like and i am a huge Barca fan..
Busquets and Abidal pair in the defence is very solid and it would probably work well in this match.
The problem lies in the midfield, dont get me wrong Mascherano is a world-class destroyer, he is extreamly good against teams who attack with many players etc.. But in this game i cannot see Arsenal throwing men forward, i just cant and most of their counters will probably come from the wings, not center.
If RVP is unavalible i would rather play Miilito-Abidal and Busquets as a DM. But like ZM noted, if RVP starts then it might be better with Busquests as a CB.
Why not Arshavin as a false nine?
Because he clearly hates the role and hasn’t done a good job of it in the past – e.g. last season when van Persie and Bendtner were out injured.
An important part of the role (perhaps especially for a false nine) is holding the ball up, and Arshavin’s strength when on the ball is trying to make something happen, not hold it for others.
Could Gibbs play on Arsenal’s left and Nasri on the right in midfield? Several times the last few weeks, the Gunners set up a two full-back left side, and against whom they should use this if not against Alves and Pedro?
This is actually a great point. I too was thinking of playing Eboue but the inclusion of Gibbs didn’t occur to me. Does Wenger have a lot of faith in Gibbs or is this just not gonna happen?
This is something that I’ve been thinking about as well. Eboue has been played on the right wing, but when I’ve seen him surge up from right-back he often holds on to the ball too long and delays a pass. And misplaces his passes often, and ceding possession back to Barca could be suicidal. In that light, I would think Gibbs at left wing would be a better option because (a) his pace and defensive awareness will come in handy dealing with Alves and (b) he can cross, more often than Eboue, and with Chamakh in the centre that would add pressure on Busquets who wouldn’t be used to dealing with crosses often.
Wenger has stressed the importance of scoring goals tonight, so in my opinion he’s relatively unlikely to be playing a full-back on the wing.
Nice preview.
In order to make the game more exciting, I hope that
(1) Arsenal refrain from playing unfit players and include Eboue over Arshavin to start, so that they can press and make life uncomfortable for Barca.
(2) Barca refrain from using Monster Masch and include Keita instead for a more fluid midfield 3.
I’d also be delighted if Barca use Adriano instead of Maxwell, as I always liked him when he was with Sevilla.
I’m surprised nobody has suggested this before. Keita is a much better passer than Mascherano, and suits that role far better for Barcelona
The problem is that he’s not that good keeping his position
I pray to god that Barcelona doesn’t score an early goal. If they do score early on, we’ll see an amazing sideways/backwards-pass-fest. However if not, it’ll be absolutely cracking match!
Well selling both Marquez en chygrynski, without replacements was really stupid of barca. What about an Alvez Maxwell Abidal Adriano defense? Pep seems to surpise us every time.
@rfldeportes hoy espero ver uno de los mejores partidos de la champion y que messi se lusca con un golazooo
where is abou diaby?
i see him starting either at the denilson role or at the arshavine one if the russian is not at his top level (i haven’t seen arsenal’s latest games)
if arshavine is always good in big games, then i think diaby will definitely start in central midfield
he has the same quality that made wilshere shine at the last game which is to burst forward in the midfield and he can keep the ball, and is ok at the DM role even though i agree denilson fits this role better
I think that Wenger may keep the same midfield as he did at the weekend – especially if Fabregas is only half fit. This would mean that Arsenal would be playing more of a 4-3-3 with a flat midfield three (rather than the 4-1-2-3 that they played last year. This would tackle the problem of Messi dropping deep because there would be a 3 v 2 in that area of midfield. It would force either Mascherano to play higher up the pitch where he is fairly ineffective or Xavi to drop deeper into space.
Also Wenger could well play Eboue (and ZM says) partly because he better defensively than Arshavin, and more impressive on the break but also because his crossing is a lot better. If Bendtner or Chamakh (who has an impressive scoring record in the Champions League) are playing against two players who are not used to playing at centre back good crosses into the box could be essential…
I know that Arsene Wenger said he won’t play Wilshere as the deepest midfielder but if they concede an early goal I wonder if he will be forced to move Nasri centrally and push Wilshere deeper fairly quickly.
Just to expand on this a bit, I recall Barcelona scoring early against United in the final and essentially passing the ball about for the rest of the half as United chased shadows. This forced Ferguson into bringing Tevez on for Anderson as early as half time.
Busquets tracking van Persie could be interesting. holes in the back? space for counter attacks!
Both are great players, it will be interesting.
Arsenal might stand a chance A if messi gets injured. Or b if they pull an inter milan. Aside from that i cant see a way they will leave the nou camp with a result in their favor.
Hey check out my blog its for all fans of the beautiful game and or people who like the tactical side of the game.
http://footballphilospher.wordpress.com/
No thanks, John.