Arsenal’s Champions League dreams were shattered tonight by the footballing machine that is Barcelona, and their terrific trio of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi. The Gunners’ exit leaves Manchester City as England’s sole representatives in the competition this season.
Here are five things learned from tonight’s game:
- Alex Iwobi was not overawed by the occasion.
At the age of 19, Iwobi had an excellent outing, and did not seem to be fazed by the task in hand, unlike some of his more illustrious teammates. He is definitely one to watch in the future.
    2. Arsene Wenger was in damage-limitation mode
Pre-match, Wenger said that he wanted his side to take the game to their hosts. They definitely needed to after being torn apart in the first leg. But facing a two-goal deficit against any team is difficult, against a team like Barcelona is another matter entirely. The starting line-up however, told us the opposite, that the Gunners had already pretty much given up, and were focusing more on their fading Premier League title challenge, with Everton up next.
    3. Barcelona showed us a lesson in how to play the beautiful game in not so beautiful weather
The conditions were not very kind to either side tonight, and a wet surface was not ideal. But Barcelona were still able to apply their own usual blend of style and swagger, and Arsenal simply had no answer.
    4. Arsenal badly need a striker
Olivier Giroud is a good forward, he is just not THE kind of forward Arsenal need. He is what you would call a ‘complementary player’. The club need a big name up front, someone like one of the scorers tonight, Luis Suarez. Gunners fans must be wishing they had signed him when they had the chance.
     5. Who can stop Barcelona?
When the Catalan side are in the mood, they are almost impossible to stop. How on earth can anybody keep the Three Amigos of Messi, Suarez and Neymar quiet for an entire 90 minutes? Real Madrid? Crushed 4-0 at the Bernabeu. Roma? Dispatched 6-1. Atletico Madrid? Beaten home and away. There aren’t many teams, if any at all, that can stop this kind of explosiveness.
By Steve Osborne             @BlizzardSteve75
