Although Barcelona are fantastic going forward, it is not what they do on the ball that scares me it is what they do when we have the ball that frightens me more. If it was a case of their attack against our attack then I would feel more relaxed about the game but Barcelona are the masters of pressing from the front. Everton caused us problems at the Emirates by stopping our players build up the game and it punctured our game.

We can finally put the Premier League and domestic competitions tucked away in the loft and pull off the covers wrapped around the Champions League. This game has been swimming around my head since we were *ahem* pulled out of the draw.

I wrote my first thoughts about the game back in December, some of which I agree with and some that I would slap someone else for saying. I made an argument for leaving out Alex Song and replacing him with Denilson in our game on Wednesday night but based on current form Alex Song is streets ahead right now and I wouldn’t dream of leaving a fit Song out of our line up but my concerns still remain.

Although Barcelona are fantastic going forward, it is not what they do on the ball that scares me it is what they do when we have the ball that frightens me more. If it was a case of their attack against our attack then I would feel more relaxed about the game but Barcelona are the masters of pressing from the front. Everton caused us problems at the Emirates by stopping our players build up the game and it punctured our game.

I don’t want to go into the game too much as I am sure it will be the main topic of conversation over the next two days but I believe the team that will be able to pass the ball around the pressure the best will win the game.

Arsene Wenger has echoed pretty much those same thoughts on the official site

Barcelona drew to Sporting Gijon last night 1-1 and their opponents really stopped them playing their game. Many teams do try and stop them but they are often unsuccessful. That is no surprise when a team is built on passing and moving under pressure from such a young age.

Jack Wilshere has spoken about what Arsenal need to do when in possession and more importantly without the ball but we already know that. Since our defeat at Old Trafford, our first team have been pressing from the front and our results and defensive record has improved considerably. It certainly is no coincidence. It was astonishing how we let them play in the first 45 minutes last year. We sat off them and let them completely dominate, it is very unlikely that they will be given that much time to do that again on Wednesday evening.

Samir Nasri has been training and I am sure he will be in the squad, it would be a massive risk to start him as he hasn’t played since limping off with the hamstring problem but with Arshavin looking as bright and fit as he did on the weekend I do not think we will miss Nasri so much.

The Arshavin against Leeds United would have given Arsene a bit more of a problem but he looked up for it against Wolves and I think his pace and direct running will cause Alves problems. I said, I wasn’t going to talk anymore about the game so stop making me do so, ok?

Real Madrid have denied making an offer for Cesc Fabregas. Apparently they have a good relationship with Arsenal and they do not want any misunderstanding. Well that is ok then.

All this Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City, Inter talk is just nonsense and it often does not compute with me. I just cannot see Cesc leaving to go to anyone but Barcelona and even that I find less likely these days. It is also very boring, this kind of speculation is pointless in February.

Right, must dash.

Back tomorrow.