Arsenal v Barcelona UWCL Final Preview

THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal play against Barcelona in the Champions League final in Lisbon on Saturday afternoon. Allow me to repeat that sentence. Arsenal play against Barcelona in the Champions League final in Lisbon on Saturday. The Gunners are the first team in the competition’s history to play in the first qualifying round and then progress to the final.

Progress to Lisbon has been far from smooth. Arsenal have overturned first leg deficits against Hacken, Real Madrid and Lyon and, technically, pulled the same trick in the group stages against Bayern Munich to top the group after a chastening 5-2 defeat on matchday one of the group stage. Two managers have overseen Arsenal’s path but Renee Slegers will lead out a revitalised Arsenal in Portugal.

While this is a one off tie against Barcelona, Arsenal go in as significant underdogs, which is more a reflection of Barca’s dominance than it is on Arsenal. The Catalans crushed Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals and defeated the same opposition in the final in 2021, racing into a 4-0 lead in the opening hour. It will be a huge task to dethrone the holders.

However, Arsenal’s run to the final has been defined by chaos and adversity. When Arsenal lifted the trophy in 2007 against Swedish side Umea, they were significant underdogs too. Slegers side are going to have to play without the ball for much of this final and it will be fascinating to see how they adapt, no other team in Europe would force Arsenal to play in the manner they will have to on Saturday.

TEAM NEWS

Goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar returns to the squad after an ankle injury. Rosa Kafaji misses out with a foot injury.

Available squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 22.Nighswonger 28.Ilestedt 62.Reid
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little(c) 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross 60.Earl 61.Harbert
Forwards: 9.Mead 17.Hurtig 18.Kelly 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius 53.Lia 56.Godfrey

A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘I’m very happy for so many people. I’ve only been at the club for one and a half years now but that work has been done over time. A lot of people should be proud but I am as well. What we have done as a team… We didn’t start easy then we take ourselves into the group stages and there were some challenging games there as well.

‘The key moment was the second leg at home to Bayern. We always knew we were a very good football team and that was a key moment where I saw we could win games in a different way. It was a special moment. Everyone you see came together against Lyon and that is a lot of work from the players. It’s about what they do in the training week. That’s what has been the best thing to be a part of. That’s why they are here.

‘We want to show courage tomorrow. We respect Barcelona as a team. We are very humble for the occasion but we are here to win. We have to find ways to win. The game will shift in momentum. It is important we deal with all moments in the game. We need courage and discipline and need to be switched on. If we do that really well then we can perform in the game. We have belief in our capacity for tomorrow.’

LAST TIME OUT
Arsenal met Barcelona in the 2021-22 group stage and lost 4-1 away and 4-0 at home, which surely means we are due a victory….

THE OPPOSITION
Barcelona have played in the last five finals, winning three and are aiming to win three in a row in Lisbon. They are the best team in Europe by a street, they have eliminated Chelsea from the competition three times and defeated Lyon and Wolfsburg in the last two finals. Their midfield is responsible for the last three Ballon D’Or winners. They are pretty, pretty good.

The midfield of Patri, Alexia and Bonmati is the best in the world and it is not close. Barca have every club in the bag, the centre of their team, driven by that La Masia reared trio, can pass and press you to death in the familiar Barcelona style. On the outside of the team, they play aggressive full-backs. Either Fridolina Rolfo or Esme Brugts at left-back are wingers by trade.

Right-back Ona Batlle is a roving, attacking right-back. Norwegian international Caro Graham Hansen on the right is the best take on winger in the world. On the left, they have a choice between Salma Paralleulo, a direct, pacy wide threat, or Claudia Pina, a wide playmaker. Both were honed in La Masia.

Polish centre-forward Ewa Pajor is one of the great penalty box strikers of her generation. Barca can out pass you, out press you, outrun you, take you on and play you in transition. To beat them you have to be a mixture of perfect and lucky and choose your moments to press them.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Arsenal are going to have to be prepared to sit off, hold their shape and resist Barca in possession through their structure. But you can’t sit back and hope to win the lottery against Barca, you have to pick your moments to press them and to attack them. Manchester City and Real Madrid both had similar ideas when they defeated Barca this season (both teams were also soundly beaten by Barca this season too).

Barca’s midfield is so good and has such a high technical level that City and Madrid both committed to an ambitious press on Barca’s backline, choosing to cut off supply to that midfield. Pivotal to this effort will be Alessia Russo at centre-forward, who will be charged with leading the press.

Both Madrid and City also went long from goal kicks because if Barca do have a slight blemish it is that they are not necessarily equipped to win aerial duels towards the back of their team. Russo is one of the best hold up strikers out there and she will need to call upon all those powers against Barca, leading the press, relieving pressure and making a nuisance of herself for Paredes and Mapi when Arsenal do attack.

PREDICTED LINE UP

Subs: 1.Zinsberger 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 9.Mead 13.Walti 21.Pelova 22.Nighswonger 25.Blackstenius 28.Ilestedt 32.Cooney-Cross 40.Williams 62.Reid

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place on Saturday at 5pm at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. In the UK the match will be shown live on TNT Sports or the DAZN website (which is free of charge, you just need to register an account). Arsenal.com have produced a full list of where the game will be shown across the globe here.

COMING UP
We will have all the usual coverage, including Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report, every word from Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference and Jamie and I will have a podcast for you on the game on Monday. Our videographer Jason is also out in Lisbon and we will have lots of video content from Lisbon, with pre and post match vlogs, including a chat with Ian Wright which you can now watch on YouTube.

The post Arsenal v Barcelona UWCL Final Preview appeared first on Arseblog News - the Arsenal news site.