It finished 2-2, just as it did when they first met. That was Arsenal’s last Uefa Champions League quarter-final; certainly for eight years, if not many more. They held the defending champions Barcelona in London in 2010 before being destroyed by Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou. It established the seasonal structure of the relationship between Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola. Even when the Frenchman had one positive result, the Catalan emerged on top.
Their meetings have often been entertaining, sometimes close and now and again tinged by controversy. This campaign will end with Guardiola’s Manchester City taking four points from Arsenal, and convinced it should have been six after Nacho Monreal’s late handball on Sunday went unpunished.
Rewind six years and Wenger was the manager with the grievance. Robin van Persie had been dismissed in unfortunate fashion. Arsenal, then 3-2 up on aggregate when paired again in the Champions League, duly went out. “We would have won that game,” Wenger insisted afterwards.
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Read more
■ Team of the week: Two players each from Man City and Liverpool
■ Analysis: Manchester City start fast but are left frustrated
■ Reaction: Mourinho calls out his players, Tottenham 'still fighting'
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Perhaps. What was definitely true was that Arsenal had troubled Barcelona. They were disparagingly nicknamed ‘Barcelona lite’ but they were stylistically similar. Arsenal players — Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song — decamped to the Camp Nou.
In an era dominated by physically powerful, defensively sound counter-attacking teams, Arsenal and Barcelona were defiant exceptions, technicians and purists, prioritising passing above all else. They had a certain artistic integrity.
Return to the current day and Sunday showed that Arsenal are Barcelona lite no more. Wenger’s ethos seems more blurred while others have more in common with the most celebrated team of their generation. It is why Sevilla’s Jorge Sampaoli and Athletic Bilbao’s Ernesto Valverde, not Wenger, are touted as the next manager of Barcelona.
It is because of the influence Barcelona have exerted. Passing alone is no longer enough to make comparisons valid. Their intensity is aped more by Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, playing a pressing game Arsenal cannot emulate.
It is because Guardiola exported his principles, first to Munich and then to Manchester. Arsenal do not run Barcelona close any more. They got hammered 10-2 on aggregate by a Bayern Munich side shaped by Barcelona’s most successful manager.
City may be Barcelona lite these days. They know they require a defensive revamp but City ran further than Arsenal. They completed more passes, and with greater accuracy. They brought more tactical invention, with Guardiola shifting players around. They beat Arsenal in December by outwitting and outflanking them, playing the second half without a striker. His experiments do not always work, but Guardiola overflows with ideas.
Meanwhile, after Arsenal twice came from behind to level, Wenger spoke in the manner of an old-school Brit of spirit and mental strength. A slump was halted, but scarcely in emphatic fashion. Arsenal were chaotic at the start, saved by the upright, and, as they are likely to lose their impeccable record of top-four finishes under Wenger, looking a side shorn of an identity, beyond the unwanted one of a club whose players who have lingered too long and whose progress has stalled.
Alexis Sanchez is a Barca alumnus, a player with the pace and potency to operate at the Camp Nou. Hector Bellerin, while culpable for Leroy Sane’s opener, can show why he began in Barcelona’s youth teams. But Barcelona teams have been defined by the midfield. Arsenal had the eternally frustrating Mesut Ozil, who gave the ball away in lacklustre fashion for Sergio Aguero’s goal, plus Granit Xhaka, the £35 million (Dh160.6m) enigma, and Francis Coquelin, an effective operator alongside Santi Cazorla, a Barcelona-style schemer, but not without him.
It used to be a criticism to brand Arsenal as Barcelona lite. Given the gulf that has opened up between them and the best, it would be a compliment these days. The damning element for Wenger is that his current charges evoke neither his greatest teams nor the role models who others have copied better. All of which poses the question: what do Wenger’s Arsenal stand for now?
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UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
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Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Celtic Prince, David Liska (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Grand Argentier, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: Arch Gold, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Ibn Malik, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
10pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5