Just as in their first visit to the Grove, Barcelona dominated the first half but this time they managed to turn their superiority into a first half lead after David Villa opened the scoring but it wasn’t enough to see off Arsene Wenger’s battling side.

In the first half Barcelona dominated possession and carved us open on numerous occasions but a combination of luck and Wojciech Sczcesny ensured that we kept the scoring down. We also had a couple of fleeting chances ourselves after a promising first ten minutes our centre backs were exposed far too easily. Lionel Messi wasted two very presentable chances and it only seemed a matter of time before we would be squeezed out of the tie altogether.

Fortunately we were still in the game as the sides re-emerged for the second half and Barcelona were unable to exert anywhere near the same amount of pressure. We matched them in every department but struggled to create any clear chances. The turning point came when the substitutions were made. Guardiola went negative and Wenger was positive. Our manager could sense that, like last year, Barca were tiring and he gave us a chance to win the game which the players duly accepted.

Clichy’s well weighted pass sent van Persie clear down the left hand side and from a very acute angle he lashed in a superb finish past Valdes’ near post. There was a sense of disbelief around the ground that he had managed to score from there but suddenly we had the momentum. A lightening counter attack ensured that we took a lead to the Nou Camp and sent a message to the watching world. Jack Wilshere fed Fabregas mid way inside our half and the captain bent a perfect ball through to Nasri. The Frenchman cut inside on the edge of the Barca area and weighted a brilliant pass across to Arshavin who put a very well controlled finish past Valdes into the bottom corner.

It was the first time we had ever beaten Barcelona and gives us a chance at the Nou Camp.

Photo: Action Images

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