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Arsenal fume but stats can't hide their despair
Marc Fox
Even the staunchest of rival supporters would surely have a degree of sympathy over the harshness of the decision to dismiss Arsenal striker Robin van Persie during last night's Champions League defeat to Barca.
Yet while Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, blamed referee Massimo Busacca's awarding of a second yellow card to Van Persie for costing the visitors to Camp Nou a place in the quarter-finals, others - including Barca coach Pep Guardiola - thought otherwise.
Thanks to a headed own goal from Sergio Busquets, Arsenal were heading into the last eight when the Dutch striker was deemed to be time wasting by shooting after play had been stopped for offside.
Busacca brandished a second yellow card, and subsequent goals from Xavi and Lionel Messi finished off the shell-shocked 10-men with relative ease.
A furious Wenger confronted the Swiss official at the final whistle. His argument was that he expected Barcelona to tire in the latter stages of the second half as they had three weeks before at the Emirates, and saw the final third of the game as the period when Arsenal might wrestle back some control.
Indeed, Nicklas Bendner's chance in the closing moments might have stolen an undeserved aggregate victory for the visitors.
However, with Van Persie dismissed 10 minutes after half-time a second mighty comeback of the tie proved impossible.
Wenger's public remonstrations will be seen in some quarters as a tactic to distract observers from the one-sidedness of the second leg.
As even the passive Guardiola noted afterwards, Arsenal defended stoutly but, in his words, didn’t string more than three or four passes together all night.
The statistics for the Frenchman's side made particularly grim reading, notably the fact that his players - albeit in a position of not needing to chase a win at the start of the second leg - failed to muster a single shot on Victor Valdez's goal and accumulated just 32% in possession terms.
Barca, by contrast, has 17 attempts on goal, and were largely kept at bay by replacement goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
In contrast to how Arsenal fared last year at the same stage, last night's surrender can also be placed in perspective. In the 2010 second leg in Barcelona, the visitors managed six attempts (two on target), opened the scoring with Bendner's goal and enjoyed 40% possession (all with 11 men on the pitch it is important to add).
It is likely that Wenger's fury at the nature of defeat was directed towards the officials out of frustration at watching his improving side totally outclassed once again in Catalonia.
The hyped media build-up to this glamour tie overshadowed the other seven matches, the clash quickly established as a battle between two pleasing sides who, by consensus, play it in the 'right way'.
But there is a danger that Arsenal's constantly reported superior style over their Premier League rivals will be proven to be just hype - and not the kind that is helpful during a title run-in.
Sky Sports panellist Jamie Redknapp - a silky smooth passer in his day - somewhat exaggeratedly noted afterwards that Barca did to Arsenal what Arsenal do to 99% of their Premier League opponents.
Meanwhile, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told BBC Radio Five Live: "It was remarkable to see Arsenal dictated to in that fashion" before adding "Barca were superb and you have to say they were on a different level."
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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