CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:CESC FABREGAS has described Arsenal's 2-1 win over Barcelona as the best game he has ever experienced, rating the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie above playing in the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 finals, each of which Spain won.
The Arsenal captain said: “For me this is the best game I have experienced on the pitch. In terms of quality, in terms of intensity. They had the ball, they went for it. We had the ball, we went for it. For me I’ve never experienced a game with so much quality with me being on the pitch, by both teams. And of course with the right result as we won. It’s a massive victory.”
The midfielder would not be drawn on how highly he rates Arsenal’s chances of knocking out the 2009 champions but he does sense the result could be different to last year when Arsenal were defeated 6-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
“I wouldn’t know to give you a percentage but it will be difficult,” he said. “I have a good feeling if everyone stays fit and there are no injuries like last year and I think this is fundamental.”
Fabregas, who left Barcelona for Arsenal as a 16-year-old, was injured for the second leg of last year’s tie. While there have been several attempts by the Spaniards to lure the Arsenal captain back to his home city, the 23-year-old midfielder is yet to feature there in a Gunners shirt. He said:
“I hope that I will get to play at the Camp Nou. It’s a special dream to play at the Camp Nou and of course I will enjoy it but the important thing is Arsenal go through. I have not had the chance as an Arsenal player and I am looking forward to it. But I am an Arsenal player and that is what I am thinking about.
“Although I am looking forward to the chance I know that if I run around after the ball for 90 minutes without touching [the ball], I won’t enjoy it at all – however special the place.”
Despite Wednesday’s win being the first occasion Arsenal have beaten Barcelona, Fabregas is clear the requirement now is to complete business in three weeks time in the return leg.
“A weight off your shoulders comes after both games not just one,” he said. “We are happy because it’s not every [day] you beat the best team in history but it’s not finished by any means. We know we have to go to a very tough stadium and it will be very difficult.”
Arsenal are still competing on all fronts. They are second in the Premier League, play an FA Cup fifth-round tie on Sunday at Leyton Orient, and the following weekend face Birmingham City in the League Cup final.
Fabregas believes the win over Barcelona has given them a vital boost ahead of these challenges.
He said: “We are happy because now we have the FA Cup, the final of the League Cup, we have the league where we are alive.
“We have so many games and we hope this win will give us confidence for those matches that lie ahead. We played with a lot of passion and a lot of heart and we proved we could win in the end.”
Fabregas, however, was unsure whether the visitors deserved to lose.“I don’t know if it was a fair result. They had great chances. I remember two of Leo [Messi] one-on-one with the keeper. But I also remember one of [Robin] van Persie in the first half and another from my cross that [Eric] Abidal cleared when Van Persie was ready to score and another from [Theo] Walcott,” he said.
For his part, young Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere ended the “biggest night” of his career by leaving the Emirates having been handed the shirts of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the two Barcelona heroes the 19-year-old hopes to emulate, coming on the back of his first start for England the previous week.
“It is by far the biggest night of my Arsenal career. They have players like Xavi, Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi – I have been watching them for years. I watched them in the World Cup and many of them [the Barcelona team] are World Cup winners,” said Wilshere.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, probably the best couple of weeks of my life.
“But there is still a job to do. We want to see it through at the Nou Camp. We have to get a goal early and then let them come at us again.”
Despite being praised by Arsene Wenger as “outstanding” Wilshere was modest regarding the suggestion he was comfortable performing against such garlanded opponents.
“It’s easy to play with the players we have,” he said. “We play similar to Barcelona and that’s the kind of football I like to play. It’s easy to fit into a team like Arsenal.”
Xavi, the Barcelona midfielder, maintained that his side were superior. “I thought we had a fantastic attitude, we played very well and we were true to our personality,” he said.
“It wasn’t to be but there is time to turn it round. Because of their goals, they will feel happier than us but I think we were much better.”
Guardian Service
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