Football from another planet? Do me a favour.

I know we've just celebrated Easter but is it just me or have we witnessed the second coming of Christ? If you heard the eulogising of Andy Gray and Richard Keys on Sky’s execrable coverage of last nights you would have thought the messiah had appeared wearing a number 10 shirt along with the 12 disciples (I include Pep and the ref who must have Bern wearing a Barca shirt under his attire). That Barca are a top team who were better on the night is not up for debate, however claims that they were 'from another planet' are ludicrous. Barcelona were not up against a top European side, they played an Arsenal team who are the third best in a poor Premiership, a team deprived of Arshavin, Fabregas, Campbell, Song, Gallas, VanPersie not to mention the options of Ramsey, Gibbs and Djorou and with a third rate goalkeeper and an average age of 23. In this respect of course Barca were better. But these so called experts need to get to grips. Messi and Co are good and play stylish football but they also know how to manipulate referees, defend as a unit and know that they have the personnel (and funds) to make a difference.

This morning’s analysis has been equally as hysterical; ‘Messi is the best player of all time’ ‘Barca are unbeatable’ etc with a dearth of exceptional European clubs it is the easy option to focus on the exception to the rule.

I hope that inter beat them, not through sour grapes but to prove a point that there's more to football than hyperbole and exaggeration and that you can win ugly as well as winning with a whipped cream cherry coated topping.

What is also clear is that yet again cometh the big game we have been found wanting; Champions league against Man Utd and Liverpool, Carling Cup final against Chelsea, no bigee, we need to add some proven quality as the 'potential' well is running dry for a few members of our squad. The balance is not right and rather than major open heart surgery, some non life threatening surgery is needed in the summer. A summer where Wenger needs to re evaluate both the makeup and philosophy of the squad or indeed his future.
Still I'm not going to end on a glum note. Let's see if we can win our next five games, see what happens elsewhere and conjure an unlikely championship; now that would be an outcome from another planet

Comments

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