31st March 2010, FOOTBALL: Arsenal 2 Barcelona 2

Football can be a strange game and tonight's match really was. Barcelona, frankly, ripped us to shreds. Their quick passing, comfort on the ball and speedy wing play meant that the game could've been beyond reach by half time. That it wasn't was down to some stupendous goalkeeping from Almunia and Barcelona's wastefulness, most often on the part of Ibrahimovic. However, we had some bad luck too, losing both Arshavin and Gallas to injuries before half time. The moment the 2nd half began though, disaster struck when a long ball caught our defence napping, Almunia raced off his line and Ibrahimovic cleverly chipped into the net. On an hour, things got worse. Again, the defence were too slow and let Imbrahmovic through again to make it 2-0. In all honesty, this was the scoreline the game deserved. And it could've been so much worse. But, it wasn't all due to Barcelona's brilliance. The aforementioned bad luck, a referee who appeared to bow to every Barcelona whim and a performance from the Arsenal midfield that, at times, beggared belief all contributed. We gave them so much space and with alarming regularly we simply gave them the ball. The worst culprit here being Diaby, who put in a retched performance. At 2-0, the visitors visibly took their feet off the gas. Enter Theo Walcott who, within minutes of his introduction nipped into the area and blasted past Valdes. Suddenly, Barca were rocking. Theo, although pretty clueless, was giving them problems with his speed. A nice bit of play between Bendtner and Fabregas in the penalty area resulted in Puyol bringing the Arsenal captain down, as he was poised to shoot. A red card for Puyol, quite rightly, and an equalising penalty from Fabregas. Incredible. We deserved to lose purely because of how they outplayed us for most of the game and yet, the goals we gave away were soft. Somehow, we've given ourselves a glimmer of hope for the 2nd leg. Although what they might do to us over there if they have their shooting boots on hardly bears thinking about. Henry, on as a substitute, left the field last to a stunning, emotional farewell. I'll admit, my eyes moistened briefly. The man is a hero.