Barca V Arsenal

Arsenal take on the world's best team, Barcelona, tonight in Paris as they try to win the UEFA Champions League.

As is my normal bent, I'll be going out to lunch now and coming back to comment on the second half.

Here are the line ups:

• Barcelona: Valdes, Oleguer, Marquez, Puyol, van Bronckhorst, Deco, Edmilson, van Bommel, Giuly, Eto'o, Ronaldinho. Subs: Jorquera, Belletti, Motta, Xavi, Larsson, Sylvinho, Iniesta.
• Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Pires, Gilberto Silva, Fabregas, Hleb, Ljungberg, Henry. Subs: Almunia, Reyes, Bergkamp, van Persie, Flamini, Senderos, Clichy.

18 mins: Bugger - I've been stopped going to lunch and Lehman's off after bringing down Eto'o- the first man sent off in a Champions League final.
19 mins: Pires is sacrificed for Almunia, baptism of fire for the Arsenal keeper.
20 mins: Barca miss the free kick - if the referee had delayed his whistle Arsenal would also be a goal down as Eto'o stike had gone in the back of the net after Lehman had fouled him.

Back from lunch and Arsenal ended the half 1-0 thanks to a Sol Campbell goal...off an Henry free-kick...which was apparently won from a dive shocking dive by Eboue.

It's been frantic Barcelona pressure since then, and the question now is whether Arsenal can hold out against Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Giuly and co for another 45 minutes. If they do, it will surely be the greatest Champions League-winning performance of all time.

...so they say the chaps at www.sportinglife.com - obvious short term memories. It would be a feat, yes but nowhere near "the greatest Champions League-winning performance of all time". That belongs to LFC in Instanpool primarily and then the game in Rome.

20 minutes to go and Arsenal are still holding on with only 40% percent of the possession, Barca have now had 13 shots on goal, while Arsenal's Henry and Eboue and sitting on yellows.

77 mins: disaster as Eto'o scores to tie the game, the next worst thing to losing would be to be forced into extra time, where a 10-man Arsenal would surely tire too quickly.
80 mins: From bad-to-worse as Belletti scores the second for the Spainards. Barca 2 - Arsenal 1.
82 mins: Barcelona are just passing the ball around now, with Arsenal's players looking dejected. Can they raise themselves for one last tilt. I don't know what the atmosphere is like there, but the Gooners need to find their voice if they want to lift their players.
85 mins: Arsene may well regret bringing on Flamini for Fabregas now, but has used his last sub by replacing Hleb with Reyes. They have to go all out now.
88 mins: Just making it to extra-time would be something now for the Gunners.
90+3 mins: Deep into injury time now.

That's it - gutting stuff Arsenal did well to play most of the game with just ten men, but two goals in three minutes, 15 minutes from time, saw them go down to the team that probably deserved it. Barca really have been a cut above the rest this season.

Arsenal will be glad, at least, that their participation in next years competition had already been decided going into this game. But the real question over the summer will be what Henry will do.

Com'mon the Gunners

I do have some conficting emotions about cheering on Arsenal as they prepare to take on Barcelona in the Champions League Cup Final, but on the whole I hope that they win it.

Here are my own personal pros and cons about this:

Cons:

• We won't be the last English team to win it
• Wenger is a jerk - especially with his "Lucky" jibe last year
• More money and prestige to sign new players (that may otherwise be LFC targets)
• They're not exactly an English team (2 players are from Blighty)
• Pires will have a winners medal
• Listing to the Gunners singing "We are the Champions of Europe"

Pros:

• They're an English team (sort-of)
  
• If Arsenal win, Henry will probably stay (better for the Premiership)
• One of my best mates is a gunner and he was made up for us last year (I've only met good gunners)
• One of the guys I hate a work is a Spurs fan and it will piss him off.
• Man Scum will lose their automatic qualification to the Group Stages (and I can dream of them going out in the qualifier)
• Henry - a quality player who deserves the acolade (and since we're already out what better time than this time)
• Gerrard's supporting the Gunners in the same way that Henry supported us last year (more).
• Arsenal 1 - Chav$ki 0. With all that money they still can't buy their way to the Champions League the way AC Milan did in the 80's.
  
• It would piss off Man Scum and Chav$ki
  
• Neville and Giggs will cry again (although not as much as last year)
• It will give England 11 Euro Cups vs. Italy & Spain's 10
• It will give England 29 Euro Trophies vs. Spain's 28 and Italy's 27
• It's the Premiership v La Liga bragging rights at stake (we already lost the first leg in Eindhoven)
• Over the years they've been like a second-team of sorts as they've been the ones challenging Man Scum, while Liverpool have langished over the last decade+.
• Man Scum would be the dregs of the trophy haul this year: =#1 Chav$ki (Prem)/Arse (CL); #3 LFC (FAC); last ManScum (Can of Carling)