Surely, there must come a time when Arsenal say enough is enough and stand up to the Catalan bully that is Barcelona. How many times must they get pimped out by the same team? By the law of averages, Arsenal are due a win. So is that a compelling enough argument for the Gunners faithful to start celebrating?
Yes it is, if you have that much belief in the power of mathematics. But if we keep things strictly football, and we look at the talent on both teams, if we are to assume that everyone will be fit, then there is no chance that over two legs, Arsenal will beat Barcelona. It's physically, philosophically and pyrotechnically impossible for the Gunners to outscore a front three that will tear open any team on the planet. And did we mention that the fastest man in the world Mertesacker will be tasked to defend the South Americans?
However, and this is where the Arsenal fans can perhaps get some hope, I don't believe that come February 2016, Barcelona will have all their players fit. I see an injury to either Lionel Ritchie (Messi) or The Truth (Neymar). And has been shown, if either of them do not play, Barcelona aren't the same. That doesn't mean they resemble the current Chelsea team and forget how to play football, but they just become more beatable and less invincible. But the plot gets even thicker than that.
Even watching them, you can see how they miss the imagination and creative element that Neymar brings to the team. It is why they won the treble so easily when all three were playing because they each brought a unique attacking dimension. So it was pretty much a pointless exercise for any team to try to defend against them.
So there you have it, that is Arsenal's real chance. To find a way of getting into Barcelona's camp and injuring one of the front three. Of course, Arsenal best have Chez in their team as well as Giroud. Yes, I said it and I didn't dare stutter. Giroud will be needed in both games because he is most likely to score. That doesn't mean he will lead them to victory on his lonesome, but he should very much be part of the grand plan Wenger will be concocting in order to defeat Barcelona.
And Sanchez is just vital for Arsenal to win any trophies this season. Zillage is not a goalscorer and the other players can't consistently come up with important G's. So it falls on the broad shoulders of the Chilean, who doesn't shrink under pressure. This is the kind of guy who has the heart and the balls to come good, as he showed with that penalty to gift Chile their first ever Copa America win.
Remember, this is all assuming either Neymar or Messi or the Cannibal will be injured.
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