Arsenal face Barcelona in CL
Arsenal will play Barcelona in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League.
Arsène Wenger's team were paired with the European champions when the draw for the last eight of this season's competition took place at Uefa Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
Arsenal lost to Barcelona in the 2006 Final despite leading for much of that game in Paris. And of course, Barca now have a certain Thierry Henry in their ranks.
The first leg of this season's Quarter-Final will take place at Emirates Stadium with the return leg at the Nou Camp.
If Arsenal advance to the last four of the Champions League they will face Inter Milan or CSKA Moscow.
Arsenal.com will have reaction from the draw later today. Stay close to the official club website for ticket information.
Quarter-Final draw:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow
Semi-Final draw:
Bayern Munich or Manchester United v Lyon or Bordeaux
Inter Milan or CSKA Moscow v Arsenal or Barcelona
Wrong info la. Amended:
from hkjc website , can u believe it ?
Arsenal 2 West Ham 0
It almost repeated the version of Hull city / Arsenal game last weekend, Arsenal's 1st goal came a bit too easy and only 4th minutes when Denilson / Bendtner played one-two and Denilson just scored immediately and the ball flied to the corner of the net.
Afterwards they just couldn't make the 2nd goal to kill off the game and then in 44th minutes , just a long ball from West Ham's half which exposed the room of Arsenal's defence , Vermaelen and Franco just ran to get the ball outside the box and a slightly touch which caused the falldown of Franco in the box , no matter what u think it's a soft penalty again like Sol Campbell conceded last week, or Franco played this intelligent way.. Referee called it a penalty and the difference this time is it's a red card to Vermaelen.
If u wonder if any justice then it's Almunia who made a good save this time , which made u a big relief ! For a potential team who can win the championship , a good goalkeeper is essential and this time Almunia obviously is a added value player who basically kept the one goal lead at half time which was crucial !!!
In 2nd half it's a tough contest and lady of luck was on Arsenal side as Carlton Cole's strike just hit the outside of the post which could has equalised for West Ham . On the other hand, Matthew Upson , the former Arsenal player handled the ball in the box which conceded another penalty to Arsenal , and this time Cesc Fabregas just hit the target in 82nd minute and sealed the 3 points.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/tv-online-arsenal-v-west-ham-highlights
It's a team effort to win this match as almost all the players were playing good , we can see the team confidence is high and Uncle Sol was fully commited last night whose experience , and his phycical presence is so important at this stage !
If u need to ｓ ｅｌｅｃｔ the best buy of the season : it must be Vermaelen but if u ｓ ｅｌｅｃｔ the best acqusition of Jan transfer window : i will choose Uncle Sol !!
Thanks chanreborn. The official website says so too. I must be confused coz I seem to have seen that in some cases a 3-match ban is given. I am very happy it is only a one-match ban for Vermaelen. I agree Birmingham have slipped in form so I expect us to beat them.
Disappointing performance by Liverpool tonight especially Torres coz I think he should be able to seize his opportunities better. If he is in normal form at least he should have scored two goals today. Well so this is the typical Liverpool, definitely not to be trusted!
hi persie ,
the red card due to the last man of the defender to foul the striker for any opportunity of the goal , as per the regulation it's one match suspension i.e. professional foul , not violent conduct like breaking people's leg which will be 3 matches suspension .. don't worry ,review the recent form of Birmingham , we can handle it , just put Uncle Sol / Silvestre and Song together as cental back next weekend!!
Vermaelen is expected to receive a one-match ban and will miss the trip to Birmingham next Saturday.
Hi chanreborn
Vermaelan’s tackle looked the slightest contact to me, but he was red-carded and we conceded a penalty. We will miss V in the next three games and this is going to give me some sleepless nights. However, Alumnia saved the penalty and Carlton Cole’s shot hit the post, so I have no complaint.
My verdict is the same. Give up and CLand just concentrate on playing our remaining EPL games.
Hi chanreborn
I think Barcelona is similar to Arsenal as they play beautiful flowing football and they also generate a lot of youngsters, lately Pedro and Sergio B. They also have problems defending high balls although they have Puyol and Piquet in central defence, so they might also have problems playing against Stokes City (joke), (Nick Bendtner, remember this!). I’m not sure if you agree with me that they might be a bit better than us in quality. On a night if both teams play their best football, it will be a very nice tie to the neutral fans. But to a fanatic fan with possible heart problem, I don’t know how I can cope with it.
Thierry is coming back to Emirates. The fans will be happy to see him. I don’t like to have our home game in the first leg, but this is the fact. But you just reminded me that we were the first English who beat Real Madrid at Bernebeu!
I just thought two things on the plate are too much for our players at this time, and I believe it is way better for us to focus on just one of them. However, I am very happy if they prove me wrong, if you prove me wrong.
Actually I look forward to the game. I hope Xavi, Iniesta, Zlatan and Pedro are all playing. If I see a top fit Messi and top fit Cesc playing, I’d be very happy.
hi persie ,
there is no way back now, Wenger and Cesc will not give up this tie against Barcelona , if they don't believe they can pass through QF then i wonder how can they win the remaining 8 league games..
Barcelona is a good team but at least they are not the same team of last season who won six trophies , Messi's form is excellant but at least we have good chances to win West Ham , Birmingham before facing Barcelona , and football is a consequence of confidence .. especially 1st leg is at home first. I still remembered when we passed through Real Madrid also playing at home first...so lets do it once again..
However , pls get 3 points tomo which is the most essential !!
Hi chanreborn, I nearly fainted when I saw the draw. However, after I regained consciousness I came to the conclusion that we should give up the Champs League and concentrate on the domestic league.
Even if we beat Barcelona we have to play Inter before reaching the Final. It’s a long shot.
If we win the League I am happy not to win the Champs League.
I hope Man U goes to the Final … and lose, hahahahahaha!