The way that Arsene Wenger has evolved his Arsenal team to play fast one-touch football to entertain the fans and bamboozle our opponents has often led to comparisons with the tikka-takka football played by an on-form Barcelona side, although we havent had the same ability to win trophies.
Right now we have someone perfectly placed to compare the two sides as Alexis Sanchez has moved to the Emirates from the Nou Camp, and he believes that our Arsenal side is just as good as the Spanish giants.
Alexis has been talking about his time in Barcelona in the Telegraph. “The first year was OK and then the second year I was better, but I needed time.” Sanchez said. “Arsenal play beautiful football, but Barcelona play in a way that no other team in the world does. English football is more direct, more end to end, but I like that. It suits the way I want to play.
“My team-mates have helped me adapt. If my team-mates were not so good, then I would not have done so well. It is that easy. The quality here is impressive. You only need to take a glance around a training session to see that. It is the same level, more or less, as there was at Barcelona. We do different things in training, but player for player, it is just about the same.”
That is very generous assessment from the Chilean superstar, but is it totally accurate? I’m not so sure….