Undone By Pure Talent

Arsenal went down to Barcelona last night. Despite Nicklas Bendtner giving the Gunners the all important early lead, the travelling team was dismissed from the European elite competition by a player with sheer brilliance and world class talent, Lionel Messi.

But of course he wasn't the only reason to Barca's 4-1 thumping of Arsenal. As a whole, the Spanish side looked like they were up against school boys this morning. Arsenal was boring, not creative, played badly, didn't see much of the ball, defended poorly and of course, lack the important touches in the final third (as usual). On the other hand, the Catalans played with the right mind set and attitude. They defended well, saw much of the ball, controlled the match and then there is the Argentine. I believe that Real Madrid should be worried as the El Clasico takes place this weekend. I for one do not see the Galaticos being able to stop the men in red and blue stripes.

Yet, Barcelona is not a one man team like Arsenal is becoming these days. While we rely so much on Cesc Fabregas (and lets face it, he will move if he doesn't win trophies at The Emirates soon), the reigning Spanish and Europe champion has so much talent. Victor Valdes is an amazing goalkeeper while Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique are good defenders. Then there is Andreas Iniesta and Zlatan Ibramovich. And this morning, only Valdes played. Yet, the Catalans managed. But I have to admit that Arsenal was a depleted side. We were missing not only Cesc but a string of other players, Andrei Arshavin, Alex Song, William Gallas, Robin van Persie and the list goes on.

I believe though that it is time Arsene Wenger buy big in the summer. Forget nurturing for a while. He is good at it but I say it again, boys DO NOT win trophies. We need experience, talent, strength and class. And no offense to the boys at The Emirates, but they are just not good enough. After all, how many times this season alone have we heard Arsene blaming on the lack of maturity as the reason we lost vital matches? After Robert Pires, Fredrick Ljungberg, Patrick Vieira, Alexander Hleb and Thierry Henry left, Arsene never did replace them. And it is not just the midfielders and strikers that ring the alarm, Arsenal need better centrebacks and of course, we need to replace Manuel Almunia. In the final third, we lack the finishing touch. In the midfield, we lack strength and creativity. In the back, we lack talent. I do admit that Thomas Vermaelen was a good buy and he became one of my favourites quickly but what can he do alone? I could go on and on about the inadequacy of Arsenal but hack, don't we already know? We've seen them so many times this season.

I am not afraid to speak of this match again today. Even to Chelsea and Manchester United fans. Because while Arsenal performed poorly, I give more credit to Barcelona for taking advantage of that and making full use of it. Arsenal went down to a brilliant team and that is perhaps the only point I can salvage from the Gunners run in the Champions League this season.

Turning our heads to the BPL once again, I hope Arsenal recovers from this defeat fast and turn their attention to Tottenham as we travel to White Hart Lane this weekend for yet another North London derby. As usual, there is just more than points at stake here as the lads would be fighting for brags and local rights. But if Arsenal were to salvage anything this season, they will have to win all 5 of their remaining matches and hope both Chelsea and Manchester United fumble. And winning the 5 matches has to start this weekend. Tottenham would love to take on Arsenal now perhaps as they would be tired and probably mentally fatigued as well. After this match, the toughest opponent for the Gunners in the run in towards the BPL title is Manchester City. If we overcome these two and the other 3 less challenging game, our hopes would still be alive. But all I hope is that I will see Arsenal lift a trophy at the end of the day. I don't really care how they do it but I hope they will. It has been too long since the Gunners win anything. 5 years if they don't this year to be exact.

Back to the Champions League, Inter Milan made it through also. So they will face the Catalans next and I fancy Barca making it all the way to the finals. Also, tonight will see Manchester United take on German giants, Bayern Munich. I have no problem believing that they'll pull something out of the hat and make it actually. I do hope Manchester United keep England's flag flying high. We are already seeing England's mark in the Champions League fading. The other tie would see Bordeaux take on Lyon. Both should be exciting games to catch.

All in all, if anyone were to ask me who will lift the Champions League cup this season, I would say Lionel Messi. He is by far the greatest footballer in the world at the moment and he is a joy to watch. It would be a shame if his team doesn't win it this season.