When Barcelona played eight time Champions League winners Lyon in last season’s UWCL Final, they won 4-0. This is always worth keeping in mind as a baseline for what playing against Barca is like. If they can beat Lyon 4-0, they can thrash anyone. To avoid a similar fate, you have to be close to perfect and pretty lucky. There is no doubt that Arsenal rode their luck in the first half at the Camp Nou.
Barca created 2.4XG from their 24 shots. That looks like a familiar stat from an Arsenal game this season but for once, the Gunners were beneficiaries of wastefulness in front of goal. However, this was not just a backs to the wall performance. Arsenal knew that Barcelona leave space in behind their full-backs.
You have to get up to two to three passes to set those situations up and against Barca’s ferocious press that is very difficult to do. But elements of Renee Slegers’ team selection were geared towards exposing Barca on the counter. Arsenal have some really good counterattacking players, a symptom of the fact that a lot of the squad was built by Jonas Eidevall who favoured a counterpressing style.
There have been times this season where that has been a frustration, that Arsenal have been trying to break down low blocks with players who need space in behind. But tonight, that worked well. Frida Maanum is a strong runner, good out of possession and excellent at counter pressing and she came into the starting line-up. Slegers also moved Caitlin Foord to the right hand side with Lisa Baum on the left.
Initially, I wondered whether that was about using Foord’s defensive qualities against the buccaneering runs of Esme Brugts. I am sure that was part of Slegers’ thinking but it was also clearly about using Foord’s running power in behind. In the opening minutes, Foord broke down the right side and that set up a chance which Alessia Russo really ought to have scored from.
The Camp Nou is also a bigger pitch than the Estadi Johan Cruyff, which suits Barca for sure but it also makes the spaces in behind larger. Arsenal used those spaces, especially with Leah Williamson’s clipped passes down the line. Arsenal used their substitutions well too, with Olivia Smith coming on to use some of that open space on the right flank.
Ona Batlle at left-back has been a point of contention this season but she provided assurance when she came on as well. Anneke Borbe started away at Chelsea and away at Manchester City which suggests that she felt Borbe was more suited to those away games against bigger teams. She stuck with Misa tonight and was vindicated by the Spaniard’s display. Tactically, this is not really a repeatable game for Arsenal unless they play Barca again later in this competition or else if they play against Lyon.
The challenge Barca pose is totally unique and there is little tactical blueprint to copy and paste in the WSL. The platform from this game and this result will need to be psychological. This was a high level game against a high level team and Arsenal reminded everyone, maybe even themselves, that they belong on this stage.