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Barcelona Arsenal
Massimo Busacca was not the only man making errors at the Nou Camp
James Goyder
Arsene Wenger is understandably aggrieved with referee Massimo Busacca whose perplexing decision to dismiss Robin Van Persie effectively ended his team's chances of reaching the quarter finals of the Champions League.
Busacca made an utterly inexplicable error. The Nou Camp is a cauldron of noise, there was considerable doubt as to whether Van Persie actually heard the whistle and the Dutch striker deserved to be given the benefit of it.
An intelligent referee would also have taken into consideration the fact that Van Persie had already been booked and his team needed to score to get back on the game. Footballers are not renowned for their intelligence but surely no-one could be stupid enough as to risk a red card by intentionally time wasting under these circumstances?
People talk about Barcelona's first half dominance but with the game tied at 1-1 and the away goals rule in effect Arsenal had a massive advantage. If they scored one more goal then Barcelona would have needed to score three to avoid elimination and a single Barcelona goal would merely have resulted in the game going into extra time.
You do not get any points for possession in football, it is a game decided on goals, and for all Barcelona's superiority they had only scored as many as Arsenal at the time of Van Persie's sending off. Anyone who feels that the game was a foregone conclusion regardless of the red card does not really understand football, Arsenal had played very badly but were still in a commanding position and as confidence flowed through the team in the aftermath of the goal the performance would probably have improved.
Being reduced to ten men was a huge blow, both tactically and psychologically, which instantly transformed Arsenal from slight favourites to massive underdogs. Replays showed that only a second had elapsed between the whistle sounding and Van Persie shooting, something the referee must have been aware of. Perhaps he felt the need to stamp his authority on the game by sending someone off and was just waiting for an excuse but ultimately all Busacca did was ruin it as a competitive spectacle.
He was not the only one culpable on that count though. Arsenal are not just a team who are at their best going forward, they are a side who are incapable of performing to anything close to an elite level unless they are on the front foot. Wenger acknowledged this fact before the game and promised to play open, attacking football but in an unprecedented and entirely uncharacteristic move he instead decided to pack the midfield and hope his team could hold out in the face of the inevitable Barcelona onslaught.
That they managed to do so for just over 45 minutes was largely due to their profligacy on their opponent's behalf although Lady Luck was also smiling on the Gunners. Barcelona were denied what looked to everyone bar the referee like a clear cut penalty which, let's face it, Lionel Messi probably wouldn't have missed.
It took a moment of madness from Cesc Fabregas followed by a moment of magic from the Argentinian to open the scoring but it was always a question of when, not if, Barcelona grabbed their first goal.
Arsenal are simply not equipped to defend for long periods of time or to withstand heavy pressure. They are a force to be reckoned with going forward and showed in the first leg they were capable of scoring goals against their Catalan opponents. With only one first choice member of the back four playing in his natural position Barcelona should have been there for the taking defensively yet Arsenal showed a remarkable reluctance to attack.
Van Persie was left utterly isolated up front as the 4-2-3-1 formation which Wenger has employed to such good effect this season became a 4-5-1 which was totally bereft of attacking ambition. Arsenal were incapable of retaining possession, let alone getting the ball forwards and basically invited Barcelona to attack, something which Josep Guardiola's men did with alacrity.
A goal for Arsenal would have left Barcelona needing three to go through without the aid of extra time and penalties. Two goals for the away side would have meant that anything less than four and the favourites were out. Under these circumstances and with a defence which is far from watertight it was absolutely essential that Arsenal carried some sort of an attacking threat.
This could have been Wenger's finest hour. A chance to show that his brand of fast flowing, counter attacking football was superior to Barcelona's more patient, possession based style. Instead he ceded the initiative to the opposition by sending his team out to do the one thing they have never been good at, defend.
Fabregas's ill advised back heel was inexcusable but it was born out of frustration. Stifled by their new formation, as well as their highly organized opponents, Arsenal had barely been able to string two passes together all half. He probably hoped that, by taking a risk in an area in which it would be totally unexpected, he could create either a bit of space or a numerical midfield advantage which his team mates could capitalize on.
Unfortunately for the Arsenal captain it was his former team who took full advantage with Messi producing the type of audacious finish to which has become his trademark. Arsenal were given a lifeline they had done little to deserve when Sergi Busquets headed into his own net but it was soon snatched away when Busacca elected to dismiss Van Persie.
With 11 men and the freedom to go forwards knowing they could concede a goal and still stay in the tie Arsenal were in with a fantastic chance. Being reduced to ten men against a far better team was a blow they were never likely to bounce back on, although substitute Nicholas Bendtner spurned an excellent late chance to grab that decisive away goal.
There is no question that the referee's error denied Arsenal at least the opportunity to reach the next round but officials have to make split second decisions in the heat of the moment and mistakes are inevitable.
What is far less easier to excuse is Wenger's decision to employ a tactic which anyone who has watched his team over the last couple of seasons could have told him would not work. Arsenal needed to take the game to Barcelona, no-one was expecting them to throw caution to the wind but they didn't have to embrace it quite so whole heartedly.
It was also a betrayal of the principals Wenger himself has always espoused. He has been known to complain when inferior opposition show minimal attacking intent against his side yet his tactics at the Nou Camp had exactly the same effect. Mistakes were undeniably made in this match but Massimo Busacca was not the only man to make them.
Read more on the Barcelona v Arsenal tie
© James Goyder & Soccerphile.com
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