Barcelona versus Arsenal

[ImperialWhite]

I come back from the pub (watching Barca - Arsa), and upon a cursory glance of General Discussion, there seems to be no thread for one of the biggest matches this season in Europe. This is odd, for what is ostensibly a football forum (after you wade through the piss and sausages threads, that is!). 
 
I hope this video serves as punishment enough: 
 
Mick McCarthy

edit: Exciting match, incidentally. At no point did Arsenal look like going through though, sadly. The best team won, however smug they are (and inevitably will be) about it.

[AmericanJames]

There was that bit of rubbish concerning the  :red: shown to rvp. Quite useless piece of officiating in my opinion

[HatterDon]

There was that bit of rubbish concerning the  :red: shown to rvp. Quite useless piece of officiating in my opinion

Kicking the ball away has been a yellow card offense since the 2002 World Cup. Van Persie was -- and always will be -- a self-obsessed idiot. This is as stupid as getting a second yellow-red for taking your shirt off after scoring, and this is something that happens at least twice a season in the Prem.

Do I believe van Persie that the crowd noise was such that he couldn't hear the whistle? Perhaps, but the only reason he couldn't and the other 21 folks on the pitch could, was that he always has his head up his ass.

:yellow: for me for ungentlemanly conduct. I'd like 3,782 other offenses taken into account, m'lud.

[clint23]

I don't think Van Persie deserved a second yellow card for that.

Barca will not reach the final this year, mark my words!

[Matt]

I don't think Van Persie deserved a second yellow card for that.

Barca will not reach the final this year, mark my words!

Thing is that rules are rules. You can't (sadly) blame a referee for following them...

[ImperialWhite]

If you register 0 shots (0 on target), then having a forward sent off is clearly the least of your worries.

[Oakeshott]

As to whether VP heard the whistle, I doubt he did. At the Hamburg game at the Cottage, with only just over a quarter of yesterday's crowd, I could barely hear what my cousin, sitting next to me, was saying, such was the volume of enthusiastic support. Difficult to image what a crowd of 95,000 enthusiastic fans would sound like and certainly Jamie Rednapp, commenting from ground level, said the noise was tremendous.

In those circumstances, and bearing in mind that VP shot only a second after the ref. whistled (according to the Sky team), it was a disgraceful piece of refereeing which spoilt the game. If Barca had continued as in the first half, they'd have beaten Arsenal with 11 men fair and square. However, as at Highbury it could have proved a game of two very different halves, with Barca's defensive weaknesses becoming apparent. Now we'll never know.

[TonyGilroy]

It was a harsh card. The ref didn't have to show it.

Referring though to the thread about our disciplinary record we never get soft, daft cards like that. Hodgson and Hughes have eliminated that from our game.

The only cards we get, on the whole, are for mistimed tackles and professional fouls. That's how we always keep 11 on the pitch.

The commentator said that Arsenal had had, I think, 9 red cards in the Champions League alone this season. Maybe I misheard him but they've certainly had 6 or 7 in the Premier League.

Factor in subsequent suspensions as well and those cards seriously impact negatively on results.

And they're all avoidable.

[Blingo]

Who really cares about Arsenal??????????????

[sipwell]

There is only Fulham (and Union). I don't need to see the other games in full length.

And this is a fulham forum, not a football forum :)

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Although Barcelona dominated and deserved to go through, Bendtner could have sent Arsenal through in the 87th minute if his first touch had not been so bad.

I really want to see Barca v Tottenham, since spurs like to counter-attack with the likes of bale, I reckon they could beat them

[Blingo]

NO WAY AFC, Barca are playing out of their skins m8. The Catalans would wipe the floor with the cr@p that is Tottenham.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

NO WAY AFC, Barca are playing out of their skins m8. The Catalans would wipe the floor with the cr@p that is Tottenham.

yes, but at the end of the day, Arsenal could have won last night with one shot on target. If Arsenal had Walcott, we would have seen a different game.

Spurs could just sit back and hit long balls to Lennon/Bale on the break, plus they can score from corners.

[Blingo]

Barca are in a different league m8, they dont care if you score four against them if they score five. Their players are amongst the very best in the world. Can you say the same about the Arse or the yids?

Walcott is good but his crossing leaves much to be desired. You can say that anyone could have come on and made a difference....but they didnt.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Barca are in a different league m8, they dont care if you score four against them if they score five. Their players are amongst the very best in the world. Can you say the same about the Arse or the yids?

Walcott is good but his crossing leaves much to be desired. You can say that anyone could have come on and made a difference....but they didnt.

I realise that they are the best team in the world right now, but that does not mean they are unbeatable (see Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona). They are genuinely scared of out and out pace as they play such a high back line, Bale destroyed Inter Milan who pushed too many men forward.

I am not saying it is a foregone conclusion that Spurs would do them, I think it would be a fascinating contest.

[Burt]

Our old friends Shaktar Donetsk have been playing well too. They are my dark horses.

But I really can't see anyone other than Barca lifting the trophy. Awesome team.

[BillNRoc]

SD did look impressive at home vs Roma. But no matter how strong a side Barca has, they surely had the 12th man advantage with that Swiss ref last night. Had he not been predisposed to rule against Arsenal, he would not have given VP the second yellow for what was "technically" a foul, true, yet one often ignored. In effect, the game was over at that point. Could FFC have withstood 11 v 10 in any of those Euro matches a year ago?

Who has SD played to get this far? Srna is a jerk, but they really looked sharp yesterday. Does the path to glory wander through Donetsk?

[SoCalJoe]

Whether or not RVP deserved the 2nd yellow, it was his first  :yellow: that was idiotic, if he doesn't get that, he doesn't get sent off.

[MJG]

It's not often u watch a game on tv and you see all ten outfield players if the same team on screen at the same time, but last night Arsenal were all bunched together in the middle of the pitch.
Alves had ago much space to run into on arsenal's left it was a joke.

[os5889]

1 second between the whistle being blown and RVP kicking the ball away....
Harsh in my opinion, it was game over once that twit of a ref fancied a bit of tv coverage