Well that was a surprise Arsenal fans!! Going out of a European competition has become the norm for us and we Gooners have gotten painfully accustomed to our team messing things up in the knockout stages, but not many expected it from the mighty Barcelona, especially with a big lead from the first leg.
That is exactly what happened last night in Rome though, and the fact that the Catalan club went to Italy with the same 4-1 scoreline that Arsenal will take to Moscow should not be lost on anyone, especially Arsene Wenger and the players.
If Barca can mess it up then surely the Gunners cannot take our progress to the semi-finals for granted. To be fair to him, I do not think that our manager will be complacent but he may just have thought about resting a player or two because of our first leg lead. Hopefully the early and surprise exit by Messi and co will persuade him not to.
It is the players that more concern me. We always hear them say the right things about focus and not assuming anyuthing but you know that they will be expecting to get through after such a good win at home. I really hope they watched Roma beat Barcelona by 3-0 last night and that it ensures that the right focus and attitude will be on show in Moscow tomorrow.
Bob.