Come on you know you have missed me writing about Arsenal switching back to the old formation to bring back the glory days. Where has Gooner (442) Dave66 been?
The Champions League Final this Saturday brings it all so sharply into focus for me and it has been on my mind constantly since Bayern humiliated Barcelona over 2 legs in the Semi-Final. It is lovely for us Gooners to have pride in beating Bayern in their own backyard, just as we love talking about the glory night at the Emirates when we came back from the dead to defeat Barcelona in 2011. Reality of course is that Barca then and Bayern now are better than Arsenal but it is the new German efficient machine that interests me the most.
There are two things that have truly struck a chord with me about the German giants who have conquered all domestically.Both observations make me draw comparisons with the Arsenal side of 2002-04 and both are things that many had consigned to the football dustbin, primarily due ironically to Barcelona.
The first observation revolves around size and physicality. For me as an impartial football supporter the semi between Barca and Bayern was like watching Arsenal and anyone in 2003/4. By this I mean 9 times out of 10 our opposition were beaten in the tunnel before the players even crossed the white line. The sheer size and presence of the Invincibles intimidated any opposition barring the very top sides and games were won before a ball was kicked. Vieira, Gilberto, Henry, Campbell were towering figures and even Bergkamp and Pires were 6 footers. It is why so many of our games in that era were won in the first 20 minutes. Continue reading
