Much as Frank Rijkaard and Arsene Wenger will talk of their keen anticipation of the showpiece to come at the Stade de France, the fact is that Barcelona and Arsenal were the best sides in the last four of the Champions League. There are no soft options now.
If Rijkaard clapped his hands against his head with as much force as any Villarreal fan when Juan Roman Riquelme failed with the penalty that would have levelled the tie with Arsenal, it was surely Wenger’s turn, as he sat in the Camp Nou, to wince when referee Markus Merk imagined a tug by Andriy Shevchenko on Carles Puyol before the Milan striker headed home in the 69th minute.
Barcelona and Arsenal have each come through by dint of a goal in the first leg. There may not be much to separate them in Paris either, even if Rijkaard’s side will be favourites. Each set of players has it in it to harm the other. Wenger is as familiar as anyone with Barcelona’s armoury and would have kept a keen eye on their flaws.
These do exist. The full-back positions are where Rijkaard stores his spare midfielders and Milan, without displaying the subtlety of Barcelona, had some impact just by taking to the wings. Former Arsenal player Giovanni van Bronckhorst is no defender and is frequently vulnerable when an attack breaks down and Ronaldinho is far from him. Arsenal will foresee scope on their own right flank and Alexander Hleb will have it drummed into him that he can be a key factor in the final. Emmanuel Eboué, too, will have licence to overlap.
Frustratingly, though, Wenger’s team tend naturally towards their left, and will do so even more if Ashley Cole is fit. They should not expect to pick on Juliano Belletti there, because the more dogged Oleguer will surely be picked for the final. Even so, Thierry Henry will seek to run dangerously in the inside-left channel. José Antonio Reyes, so long as he is not in Tuesday’s lamentable form, can also take on Barcelona’s defenders.
Of course, Barcelona leave themselves short at the back because the emphasis is elsewhere. Jaap Stam’s muscularity trimmed the effectiveness of Ronaldinho at Camp Nou, but that meant only that the Brazilian gave a good, rather than exceptional, performance. Wenger will also wonder whether Gilberto Silva and the rest of the five-man midfield can clot the centre when Barcelona starts to flow.
If that ploy should be inadequate, Wenger can reflect that he has the right sort of defenders to meet Barcelona. His team will be trying for an 11th consecutive clean sheet in the Champions League. Though Samuel Eto’o is a sinuous forward, Kolo Touré moves with as much ease as any centre-back on the contemporary scene. Sol Campbell is searching for peak condition, but Arsenal has athleticism all across the back four. Wenger must hope, though, that Lionel Messi’s thigh injury continues to be problematic. — Â