Great clip showing Abou Diaby’s reaction to Eboue’s warm up on the bench.
The match was a mixed bag. Arsenal got the win but looked far from assured. When Cleo got the equalizer, a familiar anxiety gripped the fans and an exasperated Wenger took his frustration out on the water bottle. It was yet another defensive flub that cost them. Seriously, Barca must be hoping they get the Gunners. With Squillaci and Koscielny twisted into pretzel shapes after Iniesta and Messi are done with them. It looked a bit bleak.
But Theo Walcott with an individual piece of brilliance controlled a giveaway and scored from a sweet volley. And Nasri put it away after Song did most of the spadework.
The problem with Arsenal is that for every industrious player there is a corresponding laggard. Song was quite a motor but there was Arshavin who switched to invisibility after a promising few moments. Nasri continued his good form but Chamakh whose penchant was scoring headers at Bordeaux seems to have lost that ability forever. And why Denilson is still on the Arsenal payrolls remains a mystery. Luckily Song had one of his better games. And if we can ever get our corners to clear the first defender will be the day.
Kieran Gibbs is turning into a tragic figure. Another injury, a self imposed one, saw him limp off to be replaced by Eboue. And to extract a pyrrhic victory, Bakary Sagna, evolving into a clever crosser of the ball was sent off and will miss the first part of the CL knock out stage.
For statistical purposes Arsenal entered the knockout stage for the 11th consecutive season. On a more pragmatic level if we draw Barca or Real then Wenger should do what he can to limit damage but the priority should be the Premiership.