Official Arsenal team and preview for Barcelona with Welbeck IN

From the Arsenal team selected by Arsene Wenger for the away leg of our Champions League tie with Barcelona, it looks liike Arsene Wenger was torn between giving it as good a go as possible in the Nou Camp and accepting that our chances are negligible and keeping some first team players fresh for the trip to Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Because while the boss has included the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, he has also left names like Coquelin on the bench, with Flamini preferred alongside Elneny in the central midfield area. Koscielny comes in to strengthen the defence and Wenger has gone for the pace and aggression of Gabriel next to him instead of the stature and experience of Mertesacker.

Up front the news is that both Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi start with the England international replacing Giroud in the centre forward role and with Iwobi starting on the other side to Alexis Sanchez with Ozil to provide the ammunition.

Ospina
Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal
Flamini, Elneny
Iwobi, Ozil, Alexis Sanchez
Welbeck.

Subs: Macey, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Coquelin, Campbell, Walcott, Giroud.

Barce are strong as you would expect, especially up front but they have lost Pique to suspension and if we can get at their defence and perhaps grab an early goal, you never know…

150 Comments

  1. So what headline would it be tonight?

    1. More questions over Arsene Wenger’s future as Gunners fail to fire
    2. Messi masterclass dismantles poor Arsenal side
    3. Arsenal’s struggles in front of goal continue as Barcelona progress
    4. 5-star Suarez dedicates goals to Barcelona fans
    5. Wenger blames early red card for Nou Camp defeat
    6. Arsenal pulls off Camp Nou miracle to progress
    7. Enrique congratulates Arsenal after epic penalty shootout
    8. Arsenal give Theo Walcott perfect birthday present
    9. Wenger praises genius Ozil as Arsenal shocks Barcelona
    10. Was Arsenal’s victory over Barcelona the greatest comeback of all time?

    1. i appreciate the varying levels of optimism. anything can happen! (but with flamini vs barca im not so sure)

      1. Coquelin hasn’t exactly been himself since his return from injury. Flamini may also surprise us and score a goal – that’s a part of his game that’s often underrated. However, whenever he makes a tackle my heart skips a beat 🙁

        1. coqulin sitting in the middle of the pitch is better than flamini mate. I mean flamini’s first touch last time out was messi’s knee.

        2. wait what coquelin is back to his pit bull self on the ball he’s a little rusty but his positioning and tackling have been spot on. what have you been watching?

      2. Throwing darts about and hoping one sticks . Flamini against barca?
        Another proof of a manager who has lost the plot.

        1. Messi plays with kidney stones still in him, Coq has a slight injury and he is on the bench, wrapped in cotton while the match is this very crucial? Or is it that Wenger wants to prove everyone wrong that flamini’s first touch last time out was a mistake and that he is a beast and can stop Messi all by himself today? We’ll see

    1. Just remembered how his first touch last time was to concede a penalty..

      Wonder how he will fare now

  2. Iwobi starts. Could be a tactical masterstroke or a major talking point after the game. He has shown flashes here and there, but does he deserve to start?

    1. It’s just that at this point what do we really have to lose? Might as well throw our most promising youngster to the wolves. Either way Iwobi wins in this situation as he’ll get some good experience from it.

  3. Not sure why Wenger would play Flamini over Coquelin. I’d also have rather seen Campbell play over Iwobi. I’m all for encouraging young talent, but I don’t think this particular occasion is right for it. Could be a long evening…

  4. Any one want an anti stan banner made for match day?

    HTeeTeePeeS://i.imgsafe.org/812cc95.png

    Let me know, if your a game day person and want to show how you feel to the board.

    Good Luck that AFC 11. God help us all.

  5. Good team but I would’ve chosen Coquelin and Joel over Flamini and Elneny.

    Joel on wing and Ozil and Iwobi infront of Coquelin. Iwobi has good shots. and Sharp passing.

  6. As Koss said above we really got nothing to lose! Might as well give Iwobi some CL experience and Flamini his last Champions League game ever (Most likely).

  7. not feeling nervous just try an enjoy it

    bit gutted im gonna miss bayern juve – looks a great game

  8. Three players who could take us to the next level and won’t break the bank. Kingsley coman, zlatan ibrahimovic, ngolo kante’

    1. coman wont break the bank? wrong
      zlatan is too big a personality for wenger- not a chance in hell
      kante is a maybe but europes elite are looking at him- hes fighting for titles- why downgrade to 4th place battles ?
      new list dude….we will wait haha

  9. Only 2 players would have improved our squad ( ABu and Player like Kante / Carvallho ) 50 or 60 millions well invested..let’s hope the line up for tonight turns up oterwise..BANG..BANG..embarrassment..

  10. after every arsenal defeat i decide that i will stop following them …. but come the next game i find myself in front of the TV

  11. this is too easy… we do not belong on this pitch… loose at home to watford and expect to win at nou camp… yeh right

  12. We lasted 18 minutes. Guess who made the idiotic mistake?

    This time it was Koscielny

  13. i know i would get a lot of flak for this but even after this season if ozil sticks with us i will start questioning his attitude and ambition

    1. you do realize that if he stays it speaks volumes about his desire and ambition to win AT arsenal, right?

  14. Oh Kossssssscieny. Just clear the ball…. I prefer our defenders just clear the ball than making errors in the box.. This time it was our best defender Koscieny.

    1. koncielny has been playing with useless defenders next to him for so long his game has gone downhill.

  15. you sit back and marvel at a team that have tons of money and spend it on players & winning, who have the grommets to change managers and still find a way to win, its about winning at barcelona, refreshing…

  16. We need at least 2 new center backs.Our current batch, if they are not out injured, they are busy making costly mistakes

    1. we need atleast 2 center backs, 2 fullbacks, 2 CMs, 3 AMs, 1 striker and a manager to win the ucl

  17. too slow, Sanchez should have laid the pass straight away and Elneny should have hit first time… also Sanchez should have scored that header

  18. if chances created gave you points then arsenal would have won the league and ucl hands down

  19. a sensible substitution and that too substitution at the 44th minute!!!!! has wenger been sacked already?

  20. other than flamini …a very decent half of football in my books…obviously they are a different level but there was some really nice play and we should have buried at least one of the chances

  21. Our attack so f’n pathetic. ZERO SHOTS on target against Watford and Barcelona.

    By the way, Juventus is leading 0-2 at Allianz. Let that sink in.

    1. Fun fact:

      Morata is actually Juve’s second choice. He’s starting now because Dybala got injured. LOL. And he goes and does that.

  22. It’s shame that we didn’t practice with our shooting,during training this week!

    7 shots… all off target!… ?
    If only!…. if only!! ??

  23. arghhhhhhhh thats the problem with arsenal they always give you hope and let you feel after the game about what-ifs… against milan 3-0 after the first half against bayern 2-0 with missed chances against monaco the same and against bayern the second time.. brilliant play and a missed penalty and now against barca as always if it werent for the misses…
    look i am an akb and thats the reason why even with bendtner djourou etc. a wengers side could beat a topclass barca without just parking the bus but with nice play too.. and today too the play is really nice but i think in comparison to other teams this team’s overall finishing is really bad…

    1. Following that, we will now score 2 and win 1-2. The Arsenal way. Just enough to make it look good on paper.

      1. yeah right? and in 4 years we will talk about what ifs… how we came very close against a brilliant barca/bayern side missing just one goal and against milan writing history and overcoming a 0:4 deficit but you know… coming close isnt enough anymore and its a bit inferior complex.. in my land (switzerland, well i am a secondo, originally tamil from Sri lanka) many of the lot here were proud that switzerland beat spain in the world cup 2010.. but i always hated that.. what’s the use there? of course it makes me proud to know that arsenal almost came back from 4:0 but thats just that.. a what ifs and objectively seen thats just a loss too

        But i still love wenger 😀 the players should finish better 😀

  24. Pep loosing at the moment. I love the Juventus team. They are very good defensively. Very compact and energetic. Maybe we can take a look at Allegro to take over from Wenger. Either him or Billic.

      1. We have to give credit to Juventus. The best replacement for Wenger is out there. Allegri and Billic. They are gems that know how to bring out the best. Either of those two can win the league.

  25. What the hell kinda of goal is that Suarez, what a beast. Whatever happens tonight the boys are doing well so far.

  26. well thats barca for ya… even if the arent dominating the amount of chances they score 2 goals and almost scored 3

  27. sorry, just not wanting wenger to have the excuse again of a tie in a second leg, to get change we need to get beat, if we finish behind spurs, loose to watford at home and get humiliated in the ucl, and they still do not buy a w/c striker, spend on key players, or change management then i know where i stand…

    1. I’m sure his mercedes is safe locked up in North London.

      He might as well have been too for his invisibility tonight. Only time I see him is when he gives the ball away.

  28. I would be lazy as well if I was creating +100 chances for my team mates who finish maybe 10% of them

  29. Well Walcott, it’s your birthday so let’s make it so that we can all celebrate your birthday and a victory LOL COYG!!!!!

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