The first leg of FC Barcelona and Arsenal, pure genius. Hopefully the second leg, coming to you live tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.on Fox Soccer Channel, will follow-up with the same intensity. This battle is to earn a spot in the next round of the UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal received news to look forward to this past week. Despite their failures in the Carling Cup as well as the EPL standings with Manchester United losing to a hot Liverpool squad last week, Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas are fit for Tuesday's match according to Soccernet.com. This should benefit the Gunners tremendously because of Van Persie's sudden scoring touch and Fabregas' leadership. Jack Wilshere, the 19-year-old phenom, will be depended on to control the Gunners' midfield with Fabregas still not at 100%. He will have to keep at Xavi and Iniesta's pace as the game goes on into the final minutes. Nicklas Bendtner also is showing his confidence, even though it is off the scale, with his recent hat-trick in the FA Cup. He will probably have an opportunity to come in as a sub and make a difference. Arsenal has to bring their "A-game" Tuesday night (European time) to Camp Nou in Spain. Tactically, they must come out the way they did in the second half of the first leg. Goals are a necessity because Barcelona rarely ends a game at their own stadium without having at least a goal on the score sheet. A tie or a win will put Arsenal through to the next round.
On the other hand, Barcelona will have a different mindset. They are down 2-1 in aggregate and hope to erase memories of the second half meltdown of the first leg. Needing at least a 1-0 win on Tuesday night will put Barcelona into a favorable position to the next round as favorites to win it all (not like they weren't picked as favorites before Champions League started). Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets are the masterminds of the Barcelona midfield; they will dictate how the game will flow. With the additions of Ibrahim Allefay and Javier Mascherano, the depth for Barcelona will be stable. Lionel Messi, the best player in the world (in my opinion), will have to showcase his abilities in the clutch, whether it'd be moving Barca to the next round or having the Champions League hopes and dreams door closed on them by Arsenal, handing them a pair of glasses that will only be visible to a La Liga title. David Villa is a natural born goal scorer who will be expected to finish off goals like he did in the 2010 World Cup. According to Soccernet.com, he has bagged 17 goals in 25 games in La Liga. Last but not least, let's see if Pep Guardiola's swagger, even dealing with irritating back pains, can lift Barcelona to the next round and possibly a third title in five years. 
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