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How a more defensive approach from Barcelona could lay Arsenal low

Yes, you are reading that correctly. Is it madness to alter the winning formation, or madness to not alter things against a side that will be no ordinary opposition at Camp Nou?

Advantage Arsenal but can they keep up with Barcelona?

The absence of key Barcelona defenders, Guardiola’s back problem, Arsenal’s 2-1 lead and a new-found confidence in the domestic league means that the Gunners travel to Camp Nou looking forward to upsetting the Spanish club. Although you cannot discount Barcelona’s attacking prowess – and indeed the match could be over in the first half – Arsenal have the quality to at least score once in the second leg – and given their 1-goal advantage from the first leg, it all points to a close and most-watchable Champions League match.

How To Play like Barcelona in Football Manager 2011

Everybody loves Barcelona, I know I do! Well, everybody except the Real Madrid fans I guess, but they might also be impressed by Barcelona’s sexy attacking football under the guidance of coach Pep Guardiola. I have always been an admirer of the club since the days of Johan Cruyff but I have to say that…

Premier League struggles to compete with merchandise revenues of Real Madrid & Barcelona

The TV income issue in Spain has been well-documented as the rift began to develop between La Liga clubs. Simply put, Real Madrid and Barcelona had individual TV deals making an estimated €1,500 million more than the next club in the last ten years according to Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido. But both the…

Pressing tactics: How half pressure caught Barcelona out against Arsenal

Why Arsenal didn’t have to charge at Barcelona like Vikings to beat them.

Ten Overhead Kicks That Put Rooney’s Derby Shinner To Shame

After Wayne Rooney reminded us all that he used to be a fairly decent professional footballer with his derby day belter against Manchester City last Saturday, the received (Sky Sports-infused) wisdom seems to be that the decidedly off-colour striker’s effort was, without need for second thought, the greatest overhead kick ever scored by anyone, anywhere, ever.

However, that’s not quite the case – as the following, ten-strong video essay will hopefully attest to.

Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona – Goals (Video)

David Villa scored the first goal of the game, capping off a pass from Lionel Messi in the 26th minute and Barcelona were cruising to an away win until halftime. Arsenal remained a constant threat to Barcelona’s goal throughout but even in the second half, Barca seemed content and in control. When Messi started walking…

Wenger on Barcelona’s transfer / youth policy and their lies about Fabregas

Following on from yesterday’s article looking at Barcelona’s hypocrisy, it’s worth looking at Arsene Wenger’s reply to comments made by Barcelona’s ex-president Joan Laporta and current VP Javier Faus about Cesc Fabregas. While Faus was only talking about how much money they have available for transfers, Laporta went a step further, talking about a sense…

Barcelona beat Arsenal off the pitch

Arsenal used to be the self-proclaimed ‘masters’ of playing ‘pretty football’ until their English rivals forced them to seek balance and Barcelona usurped them on the pitch, with two Champions League titles and their players forming the core group of the Spain team that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. So that’s the…

2010/2011 UEFA Champions League Second Round Preview

The 2010/2011 Champions League knockout stages kick off this week with the second round matches to be played from 15th February to 16th March. 16 teams will be looking to progress to the quarterfinals, with no easy winners in sight (except maybe Chelsea). This season’s Champions League sees Tottenham making their Champions League debut, while…