Mohamed Elneny briefly gave Arsene Wenger’s side a glimmer of hope after he cancelled out Neymar’s opener but despite a spirited display here at Camp Nou, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi condemned them to a 5-1 loss on aggregate.
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Wenger made a decision to drop the busy Francis Coquelin to the bench and sent out 32-year-old Mathieu Flamini to chase around the Nou Camp.
Wanting to extend a record of 37 games unbeaten will also spur on the home side, “37 games without losing is astonishing, and we want to extend it further” – skipper Andres Iniesta said after the 6-0 thrashing of Getafe at the weekend. Especially a Champions League game.
While he is anxious about giving away an early goal, Enrique was happy with how his team answered everything that was thrown at them at the Emirates and has vowed not to change anything ahead of the second leg.
Arsenal supporters are not happy with their club’s fortunes and have very vocally expressed their dissatisfaction with the French coach many times this season.
Welbeck almost burst clear at the other end but Mascherano blocked his shot as he let fly on his left-foot.
The German stopper also kept out Giroud’s follow-up as the visitors pushed for a result on the night but Barcelona were not finished as Messi lifted over Ospina to put the icing on the cake.
Dani Alves lofted a ball into the box and Suarez shaped his body to hit an unstoppable volley past Ospina.
“It’s a hard occasion for us but unfortunately we couldn’t get through”.
But where Arsenal lacked precision to go with their enthusiasm, Suarez contributed decisively with his 43rd goal of the season – and arguably his best – in the 65th minute. “Every player wants to play against the best team, so we have to have the opportunity to come to the next round”, he added.
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As well as pressurising Busquets in midfield, Wenger will need his forwards to chase down Barcelona’s back four in an attempt to force mistakes high up the pitch. “They did it against Bayern Munich and AC Milan, although the wins were not enough to guarantee them passage due to superior goals scored in the first legs by their opponents”, Shittu told Completesportsnigeria.com during an exclusive chat..
