Arsenal's midweek clash against Barcelona in the Champions League was
always going to be testing. The Gunners were destined to draw one of
the continent's giants in the round of 16 after finishing second in
their group following a superb salvation act in the last two fixtures.
They don't come any bigger than Barca, however, and while the north London heavyweights held on for an impressive 70 minutes, they were undone during the final 20 minutes of the match as the reigning European champions turned on the class.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring following an explosive
counter-attacking move, before adding a second with a late penalty after
Mathieu Flamini's clumsy foul. After a 2-0 home defeat, Arsenal's hopes of advancing to the Champions
League appear to be hanging by a thread, although they can surely take
some solace from holding the Catalan giants at bay for over an hour.
heir head-to-head against Manchester United on Sunday won't be as venomous a contest as the kind of reunions the two English giants used to share, but it is still a fixture that—on paper at least—ranks amongst the biggest in the domestic game.
After their recent come-from-behind victory against title rivals Leicester City, the Gunners are firmly back in the Championship picture, and could overtake the Foxes if results go their way this weekend.
However, a combination of the defeat to Barca and last weekend's 0-0 home FA Cup draw against Hull City means that the Gunners have struggled to keep the momentum going following their back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Leicester.
Who will win this grudge match?
They don't come any bigger than Barca, however, and while the north London heavyweights held on for an impressive 70 minutes, they were undone during the final 20 minutes of the match as the reigning European champions turned on the class.
Manchester United Arsenal 24 Goals Conceded 23 12 Clean Sheets 12 91 Shots Faced (on target) 110 378 Tackles Won 375 124 Tackles Lost 125 75.3% Tackles Won (%) 75% 1,332 Duels Won 1,512 1,555 Duels lost 1,352 46.1% Duels won (%) 52.8%
heir head-to-head against Manchester United on Sunday won't be as venomous a contest as the kind of reunions the two English giants used to share, but it is still a fixture that—on paper at least—ranks amongst the biggest in the domestic game.
After their recent come-from-behind victory against title rivals Leicester City, the Gunners are firmly back in the Championship picture, and could overtake the Foxes if results go their way this weekend.
However, a combination of the defeat to Barca and last weekend's 0-0 home FA Cup draw against Hull City means that the Gunners have struggled to keep the momentum going following their back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Leicester.
Who will win this grudge match?
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