Arsenal agree terms with Barca for Fabregas

rsenal announces today that they have reached an agreement in principle with Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas to move to Spain.

It signals the end of the midfielder's eight-year spell at Arsenal. Fabregas joined the Club from Barcelona as a 16-year-old in September 2003 and made 303 appearances, scoring 57 goals in all competitions.

He holds the records for the youngest Arsenal first team player (16 years and 177 days v Rotherham United (h), 28 October 2003) and the youngest Arsenal first team goalscorer (16 years and 212 days v Wolves (h), 2 December, 2003).

Named as Arsenal Captain in November 2008, Fabregas also became a regular in the Spain national team, making 58 appearances to date.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said: "We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case. However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona. We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."

The transfer is subject to the completion of formal legal agreements and registration processes, together with Fabregas agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

Can Arsenal survive without Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri

This has been the question all summer and i really feel arsenal will survive perhaps this is the only way Wenger would change his tactics and do something different this season.No doubt Cesc is our best player,But how long can arsenal suffer because of Cesc.On the other hand Nasri was great last season but again if a player is not committed to the club whats the point in having him.

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust drew attention to the £4m clause in Fabregas’s contract last week and the player himself has now offered to give up his right to the money to make the deal easier for Arsenal to accept.


It could prove decisive, although Fabregas will still have to see if Barcelona raise their latest offer of £32m plus £5m in additional payments, rejected by Arsenal last week.

Arsenal have insisted since the start of the summer that Barcelona will have to pay £40m for Fabregas and the Catalan club’s vice-president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and director Raul Sanllehi left London on Friday still having failed to secure coach Pep Guardiola’s prime summer target.

Blackpool vs Arsenal preview: Do, or die. Plus favourite line-up

The Game

This is not an easy moment for Arsenal. It’s not easy to be Arsene Wenger, not easy to be a player and not easy to be a supporter.

Whether you like it or not, whether you deny it or not, we are living one of the darkest chapters of the season and what makes all this even more painful are all the excuses coming out now that we are only competing for the English Premier League and some remarks made by our manager during yesterday’s press conference, remarks which I’m more than sure you read by now.

Allow me to analyse some of the things that took place following the Blackburn defeat and my personal point of view on each and every one of them.

This team is 23, this team is absolutely amazing for what they do at their age

This is a complete contradiction of what our manager said in September when he told L’Equipe, “My players don’t have the excuse of inexperience any more. They are eager for titles. I believe they are capable, but they have to show it.”

This, is the complete opposite of what Robin van Persie said in September of 2009 when he told Arsenal.com. “We now have more experience too. There is me, Clichy, Fabregas and Song – we cannot hide behind saying we are inexperienced anymore. It is now about how much we really want it.”

And this, is the complete opposite of what Theo Walcott said before the season started, in July, when he told Arsenal TV Online, “We want to win things instead of using the excuse that we’re experienced young players, we need to turn experience into winning trophies”.

The above are all documented quotes spoken by our manager or players. Why the sudden change? What is the reason why bullish remarks such as “We want to win things instead of using the excuse that we’re experienced young players” have turned into “this team is absolutely amazing for what they do at their age”?

Nobody talks about the fact we built a new stadium

Wrong. Unfortunately many still do and I still cannot understand the reason. Let’s understand one basic thing: we started the season with a squad and Manchester United started the season with a different squad. These two squads were built with different financial power but when the season kicked-off, quality wise, the two squads were as equally-strong.

If we were talking about a different type of business, let’s say a restaurant, I would agree that someone spending £20 to build his empire will have more power than someone spending £5. But this is a “different” business, this is football and this is Arsene Wenger. With less cash spent, Arsene put Arsenal in a position to have a squad which I repeat, is as competitive as Manchester United and Chelsea.

I mean seriously, you either believe our squad is not good enough or else you agree with me that quality-wise we were on the same level as Manchester United in August, yet for a reason which apparently is a mystery for many, with two months to go, they are fighting for three trophies, we are fighting for one.

Is money spent the reason? No! I repeat, when the season started both teams were of equal quality. Granted, I was a little skeptical on our defensive department yet as our manager said we conceded less goals than the Red Devils this season and you cannot blame the defence for goalless draws against Blackburn and Sunderland.

To give the same example I gave weeks ago, Arsenal under Arsene Wenger is like a Formula 1 car which qualified in the last row of the grid, managed to get in the first positions during the race, could have easily taken the lead and won the race but ran out of gas because the driver opted not to re-fuel even if all his mechanics kept on warning him about the lack of fuel. Funnily enough, I’m told they took fuel out of the equation during pit-stops last year.

What Now?

We now have to win tomorrow’s game and hope for Manchester United to drop points or be tired when they get to face us at the Emirates on May the 1st. That is what Robin van Persie said apparently, maybe because we not capable of beating them if they are not tired.

Incidentally I believe it’s the complete opposite. I’m more than sure we will play a great game, I’m more than sure those at the Emirates will support the players in the same way they did when we played and went a goal down against Barcelona and I’m more than sure we will win the game.

But then what? It’s no use playing the game of your life, supporting the players as if you’re supporting your own son and then go back to square one when we get to play Blackburn or Sunderland or any other low-ranked team in the Premier League. It’s either always or never, maybe that is what we have to talk about ahead of the future.

As always, my favourite line-up is below. Remember you can submit your own at Arsenal Interactive and then share it on Twitter and Facebook.

Favourite line-up

There isn’t much to say about tomorrow’s starting line-up. Manuel will start in goal with Bacary to carry out a late fitness test that if failed will see Emmanuel Eboue started on the right.

In midfield, Abou Diaby and Cesc Fabregas are fortunately both fit to start so they will join Jack with Robin up front supported by Samir and Theo. The latter was fantastic in the first half against Blackburn and so was Andrey mind you, but to start with I would opt for the pace of the Englishman.

Its make or break time for Arsenal

Getty Images

The equation for Arsenal is simple; win at Blackpool this weekend to keep their Premier League title hopes alive or fail to win and see their hopes of silverware this season slip away.

The London side sit seven points behind Manchester United at the top and though they have played one game less than their rivals, they know that it will probably take something close to eight wins from their remaining games to stand a chance.

Last weekend's home draw to Blackburn was a desperate disappointment for manager Arsene Wenger, but his players have not given up hope that they could yet overhaul United.

“Definitely we still believe,” striker Robin van Persie said. “We still believe we are really good footballers, we have eight games to play and it is up to us.

“On Sunday we have Blackpool away and this is a chance for us to get three points. We cannot give up, we have to go on.

“We had the chances on Saturday, but we were a bit unlucky. It was one of those days when no matter what we did it wouldn't go in. Of course everyone is down because we should have won, but everyone stays positive, everyone speaks to each other and says come on, we have eight games to play and try to win and we will do that.”

Wenger will be relieved to have his captain Cesc Fabregas available to start for only the second time in eight matches, and Van Persie admitted that the absence of some of the big names has hurt their cause.

“We have been unlucky with injuries in certain games when Cesc has not been involved,” the Dutchman said. “He is our engine, he is the one with the brains, who passes the ball in behind. He makes the game for us and when he is not there we all feel that.

“A few of these injuries have happened to us over the past few years at this time and it is hard to cope with. You need your best players. But we will work hard again now and everybody will be positive for the Blackpool game. We still believe, we cannot do otherwise.”

United, meanwhile, and in particular Wayne Rooney, are full of confidence as they try to extend their lead when they play host to Fulham 24 hours earlier.

Rooney's four goals in two games helped United come from 2-0 down to beat West Ham 4-2 last weekend and see off Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in midweek.

The England striker came in for a lot of abuse from the crowd after his punishment for swearing into a television camera at West Ham but United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he responded in the perfect fashion.

“He was top quality (against Chelsea), Ferguson said. “Wayne took a lot of abuse and late tackles but he was excellent. He's in great form.”

Third-placed Manchester City have to travel to Liverpool on Monday night, giving Chelsea the chance to go back above them into third if they can beat bottom side Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge.

Carlo Ancelotti's side were aggrieved not to get a penalty in the last minute of their defeat by United and will have to bounce back quickly if they are to get all three points and maintain their own faint title hopes.

Just three points separate the bottom seven clubs and Wolverhampton Wanderers, second from bottom and one point from safety, have a must-win home match against Everton.

Mick McCarthy's side was beaten 4-1 at Newcastle last time out and the manager knows they have to pick up points at home.

“We've just got to put it to one side and get on with preparing for Everton,” he said.

“The worry would be if we'd had too many performances like that. It was a one-off, a blip and we gave goals away and if you give goals away, you can't win games.”

West Ham, the other side in the bottom three, travel to Bolton Wanderers while Blackburn and Birmingham, in 14th and 15th respectively, clash at Ewood Park.

Sunderland face West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa host Newcastle while Tottenham, fresh from their 4-0 mauling by Real Madrid in the Champions League, welcome Stoke City to White Hart Lane. – Sapa-dpa

Thoughts On The Tactics And Starting Eleven Against West Brom

There have only been a handful of games this season which I thought were going to be easy. The home game against WBA was one of those. Such experience can make one respect a sentence like – there are no easy games in the Premiership – instead of ignoring it as a cliché. So Arsenal travel to the Hawthorns in what is another potential banana skin against a side battling relegation.

I haven’t seen West Brom play after the change of manager so I’m not sure if there have been any major changes to their tactical approach. Going by Hodgson’s style at previous clubs I expect to see a well organized defence with persistent pressing by five men in the middle in a manner similar to Sunderland. It will not be easy for Arsenal to bring the ball out from the defence in the absence of Song and Diaby so Wilshere will have to play in a deeper role and take more responsibility in terms of holding off the pressure to link the defence with the offence. His excellent experience against Barca will be handy.

Arsenal will also need to move the ball as a fast tempo to break the rhythm of this pressing and to create openings. That means the players will have to play with a high level of confidence and energy. After a week’s break there should be no room for excuses like ‘we lacked sharpness’.

The other major tactical points worth noting are in defence. The West Brom attackers use the spaces between the midfield and defence, and between the defenders themselves fairly well. The two centre-backs will have to track their movement without fail and should not allow the likes of Odemwinge, Brunt, and Morrison to get in the gaps unmarked. They also have players in the middle who can play some defence splitting passes. That means the midfield and forward players will have to do a good job of closing down the man on the ball.

Even the full-backs will have to do better with their positioning because the West Brom wingers are definitely better than the likes of Fabio and Rafael playing on the wings. Sagna and Gibbs were quite poor against United. Hopefully it was a one-off blip for Sagna and with Clichy back both flanks should be better protected.

The big question for Arsene will be the attacking midfield role. He could pick Nasri, Rosicky, or Ramsey for that role. If Rambo is fully fit he’d be my choice but I’m not convinced about his sharpness.

These days Arsene starts Rosicky in the middle and Nasri on the flank but in this game I’d swap the two. The main reason for that is to have Nasri on the ball more frequently.

The reason for picking Rosicky on the right ahead of Bendtner or Eboue, the only other options, is that he can play the tippy-tappy game. If the Dane is picked in that role Arsenal will struggle to deal with West Brom’s pressing and will not be able to bring the ball out to the attacking areas that often.

I’d also instruct Wilshere and Denilson to play much deeper than usual and not stray too far in front of the defence. Arshavin will leave the left exposed so having only one deep-lying midfielder will leave too many vacant spaces for the defenders to cover.

With so many second string players in the starting line-up the tactical focus has to be on a patient and cautious approach. I don’t expect Arsenal to pile on the goals in this fixture but a grinding win with a couple of telling moments created by Arshavin, Nasri, or RvP should suffice.

Probable starting line-up,

Almunia – Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy – Denilson, Nasri, Wilshere – Rosicky, RvP, Arshavin.

I know the likes of Denilson and Rosicky are not popular figures but at the moment this seems to be the best possible line-up. If things are tight, Ramsey could be introduced at half time or the hour mark.

I expect this game to be settled with a one goal margin. If the tactics are right and there aren’t any glaring individual mistakes it should be at the right end.

Wenger – We need to respond, and I’m confident

enger is preparing to face his old rival Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford today, and whoever wins between Arsenal and Man United are certain to be favourites to lift the trophy at the end of the season.

The Gunners have endured a bad patch recently, having lost the Carling Cup Final and been knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona, but Man Utd have also lost their last two games, against Liverpool and Chelsea, so they are also looking to regain their confidence.

Wenger is aware that the winners of this game will have the advantage in confidence in the final weeks of the Premiership campaign as well. “We need the result, I must say, because we need help,” he said.

“We have been touched severely recently and we are, of course, chasing after a big win.

“I share the disappointment of the last two weeks, but we cannot miss two very big targets because of that. It is very exciting.

“We are in the quarter-final of the FA Cup and in a good position in the league. It is down to us to respond to the disappointment. Our future lies in the way we respond, and I’m confident.

“I think at the moment the two teams have had a little disappointment from recent results. So it’s still the one who deals the best with that, who can come out on top of that.

“Manchester United lost two games, we just lost two as well, so it is how well we deal with that which will be certainly vital.”

Of course Man Utd will have the advantage of not having played in midweek, but Alex Ferguson will have to have an eye on Tuesdays game against Marseille as well.

This game will certainly be the highlight of the weekend, that’s for sure

Arsene Wenger targets Arsenal double

Arsene Wenger feels Arsenal's disappointing Champions League exit against Barcelona now means his squad will not be "overloaded" as they aim to beat Manchester United to the domestic double.

The Gunners crashed out of Europe to the Spanish champions for the second successive season at the Nou Camp, where Wenger was left in a rage and on a UEFA charge following the decision of Swiss referee Massimo Busacca to controversially dismiss striker Robin van Persie for shooting at goal just a second after the whistle for offside.

It remains to be seen just how hard Europe's governing body hit Wenger, and also midfielder Samir Nasri, for "inappropriate language" directed towards the official at the final whistle, with the Arsenal manager yesterday adding more fuel to the fire when he accused UEFA of being arrogant and of acting like a "dictatorship".

What is for certain, though, is a season which again promised so much is in danger of once more ultimately delivering very little.

Nevertheless, Arsenal - who suffered a shock defeat to Birmingham in the Carling Cup final at Wembley 10 days ago - still hold destiny in their own hands.

Following successive league defeats for United, Wenger's men are now just three points behind the Red Devils, who play the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Marseille next week and must go to the Emirates Stadium on May 1.

Victory at Old Trafford in tomorrow's FA Cup quarter-final clash would see the Gunners return to Wembley in April and stay on course to clinch what would certainly be a double earned the hard way.

Wenger feels not having a such congested fixture list ahead could just work in their favour.

"We will not be overloaded, that's the advantage of it," said the Gunners boss, again without skipper Cesc Fabregas, who aggravated his hamstring problem in the Nou Camp.

"We want to deal well with the two psychological blows that we had recently and that's our purpose. If we manage to do that then it will be advantage.

"We need to keep the confidence level high by keeping the results going that we have achieved recently. Since November, I feel this team has taken off.

"While in the last month we have lost the Carling Cup final and gone out of the Champions League, but if you had a global view of the last three months then you had every reason to be optimistic."

Wenger, though, accepted: "Tomorrow's game has big significance of course as the targets now that we have in front of us are the championship and FA Cup."

Wenger believes Tuesday night's capitulation in the Nou Camp should not be taken in isolation.

"You have to analyse this tie in the two games," he said.

"People say that we did not have a shot in this game, but we had more shots than Barcelona in the first game and we would have had shots in this game had it remained 11 versus 11 in the last 30 minutes."

The Gunners boss insists his battle-weary squad should be able to bring plenty of positives from their European disappointment.

He continued: "Overall they can gain a lot of confidence, as overall the attitude and quality that we have shown in the two games was, for me, outstanding in different departments, offensively and defensively.

"The team can gain a lot of credit and belief as well."

Veteran Spaniard Manuel Almunia will return to the starting XI tomorrow, with Wojciech Szczesny set to be sidelined for around six weeks as Wenger looks for emergency goalkeeper cover.

The 33-year-old had seemed set to leave Arsenal during the January transfer window after struggling with form and injury.

Wenger, though, has been impressed with Almunia's approach to the situation.

"Manuel Almunia is very professional, [has a] very dignified attitude and overall he has done very well," the Arsenal boss said.

"Yes, he has done quite well when he came on [against Barcelona] and was quite busy in the final part of the game and he did very well."

Wenger does not expect any of his senior squad to be happy just warming the bench, adding: "When I took Jens Lehmann out, who [had] made only one mistake, and put Almunia in, Lehmann came in the next day and fought even harder. That's what I believe our job is about."

Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed he regrets leaving Arsenal two years ago. Is Cesc reading this????

The Togo international has become a hate-figure in north London since big-money move to Manchester City in 2009.
Matters were not helped after he was banned after his first game for City against his former club when he kicked former team-mate Robin Van Persie in the head and then ran the length of the pitch to celebrate a goal in front of the Arsenal supporters.
But a year-and-a-half after his £25m transfer the striker was forced out of Eastlands after falling behind Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko in the pecking order.
The 27-year-old is currently on a six-month loan deal with Spanish giants Real Madrid, but still has regrets about departing North London.
"It was another level there. Bergkamp, Henry and Van Persie were there - it made me improve as a footballer. I became a key figure in attack and it shows that I was a success.
"[Arsene Wenger taught me] to arrive on time at training, to be professional, how to mentally recover, to act professionally with the other players in the dressing room. But, to be honest, I left frustrated. I loved the club.
"When I was young, one of my dreams was to play for Arsenal because my idol, Kanu, played there. I thought I would stay there for the rest of my career," he told Spanish newspaper AS.

I hope cesc is reading this and takes note of how most of the other players who have left arsenal have regreted doing so.

Wenger won't make an emergency signing - Van Persie to play tomorrow

With the manager's press conference taking place yesterday as he and his team travel to Manchester later today, we got to move on from Tuesday night. Obviously there were questions relating to our defeat but I wouldn't have expected any different.

The team news isn't rosy, unfortunately. Wojciech Szczesny will have to see a specialist about his dislocated finger. He could be out for up to six weeks. The manager is considering an emergency loan - he must ask the Premier League for permission to make the signing - and has even identified a target.

I have no idea who it will be. But I will hazard a guess and predict we won't sign anyone.

As I said, Szczesny could be out for up to six weeks. Two of those weeks are a break for international fixtures. So in reality it is down to four. For the next two fixtures - Manchester United and West Brom - Manuel Almunia will be in goal and reserve team keeper James Shea will act as his understudy.

That cuts the time down to three weeks after the international break.

The manager likes to muddle through with what he's got. Remember in the January transfer window when we were crying out from a central defensive signing. And what happened, we got to February 1st and not a single player had been signed.

He would rather stick with what he has rather than take a punt on a player who he's not yet ready to sign. And when you sign a player - especially on an emergency loan - unless you know them very well you don't know what type of character you'll be bringing in.

The new guy could be a disruptive influence on the other players - change the mood in the camp - start fights. At least with the keepers he's got, Wenger knows the characters and what to expect.

We're going into a very important time in the season - the business end. This is a critical moment for this team - one where they have two trophies in their sights. If Wenger signs the wrong guy those two trophies could be gone.

And the manager isn't prepared to end the season without winning something. We've the Premier League and FA Cup left.

Wenger said:
"We want to deal well with the two psychological blows that we had recently, and that's our purpose. If we manage to do that, then it will be an advantage.
"In the last month we have lost the Carling Cup final and gone out of the Champions League, so if you had a global view of the last three months you had every reason to be optimistic.
"I've said since the start of the season that we will go for all of the competitions. We've got two left. We need to keep the right attitude to turn the luck around on our side a little bit."
And I think this weekend is important. If we bounce back with a win it will push us on again. We've got to get our momentum back. I think that is key. That will mean playing our most influential players at Old Trafford.... the one's we've got left who aren't injured.

And the early team news is that as well as Szczesny, Cesc Fabregas is out with a reoccurrence of his hamstring injury. He'll miss the game tomorrow and more than likely the trip to West Brom Saturday week.

Alex Song still remains on the sidelines as does Theo Walcott and Thomas Vermaelen.

The good news however is that Robin van Persie has suffered no ill effects of playing on Tuesday night and is available. I think that is a minor miracle myself but very good news.

I think van Persie will start at Old Trafford and the manager will play a strong side.

There is some stuff around about Arsene Wenger bashing UEFA, all very interesting if you're into that sort of thing. I would much rather concentrate on the football now. Tuesday was a very disappointing evening for every Gooner, so I just want to move forward and think about winning things.

Some transfer tittle-tattle for you? The Daily Mail link us to Le Havre for 16-year-old Benjamin Mendy, who plays left back for France's under-17s.

Manchester United and Arsenal - two great clubs, five classic FA Cup clashes

Competition's two most successful teams have met in 13 previous ties

Manchester United and Arsenal lock horns in Fa cup action for the 14th time on Saturday, but the first time in a quarter-final. Of the previous 13 meetings between the two great rivals, there have been three fourth round and four fifth round ties, plus four semi-finals (including one replay) and two finals.

United are unbeaten in semi-finals against the Gunners, who themselves are unbeaten in finals involving the Red Devils. Overall, United have won six times and Arsenal five, with two matches drawn. But the Gunners won a penalty shoot-out against United, triggered when the 2005 final ended all-square after extra-time.

With the two clubs battling one another again for Premier League supremacy this season - and with both having something to prove after humbling 3-1 defeats in their respective last outings - interest ahead of the weekend's Old Trafford showdown is particularly acute.

To whet the appetite further, We look back at five of the most memorable FA Cup meetings between two clubs whose 21 final triumphs (United 11 wins, Arsenal 10) make them the two most successful clubs in the history of the competition.

5. May 21 2005 (Final), Millennium Stadium
- Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United (aet, Arsenal won 5-4 on pens)

It's one of football's tiredest cliches that Arsenal haven't won a trophy since... well, this one six years ago. And they were outplayed for 120 minutes by Cup holders United, who saw Rio Ferdinand's 'goal' correctly disallowed, Wayne Rooney hit the post and Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal-bound effort kept out by Freddie Ljungberg on the line.

Arsenal, forced to play Dennis Bergkamp as a lone striker without the injured Thierry Henry, only managed their first shot on target in the seventh minute of extra-time. The goalless draw was the first in an FA Cup final since 1912, and forced the fixture's first penalty shoot-out. Jens Lehmann saved from Paul Scholes, while all the other spot-kicks were converted - including the decisive 10th, despatched by Gunners skipper Patrick Vieira.

4. April 3, 2004 (semi-final), Villa Park
- Manchester Utd 1-0 Arsenal

Arsenal's unbeaten league record was maintained six days earlier in a 1-1 draw at Highbury, but at Villa Park United inflicted on the Gunners their first FA Cup defeat since May 2001. A typically tense and dramatic semi-final saw Arsenal twice strike the woodwork, have a penalty appeal for handball against future Gunner Mikael Silvestre rejected and dominate possession for lengthy spells, but fail to capitalise on their chances.

They paid the price when Scholes struck on 32 minutes, rifling a Ryan Giggs pass beyond Lehmann from 15 yards. With Wes Brown outstanding, United defended resolutely to deny Arsenal a fourth successive final, going on to beat Millwall and lift their 11th (and last) FA Cup.

3. February 15, 2003 (5th round), Old Trafford
- Manchester Utd 0-2 Arsenal

The intense rivalry between the teams was at its most bitter in 2003. United had won 2-0 at home two months earlier, but Arsenal still led the Premier League. A physical battle saw fouls galore, with referee Jeff Winter having almost every decision challenged by angry players.

Giggs uncharacteristically blazed over an open goal before Edu gave the visitors a 34th minute lead. Sylvain Wiltord added a decisive second seven minutes after the break, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson so incensed with the defeat that in the dressing room afterwards he kicked out a stray boot, unintentionally but infamously cutting David Beckham’s eyebrow.


2. April 14, 1999 (semi-final replay), Villa Park
- Manchester Utd 2-1 Arsenal

Arsenal had won the Double the previous year; now United would complete the Treble, pipping the Gunners by a point in the league and beating them in the last FA Cup semi-final replay ever staged. Three days earlier the sides had drawn 0-0 in a game not without controversy. But for drama and excitement, the replay left it standing.

Beckham beat David Seaman from 20 yards on 17 minutes but Bergkamp equalised with a deflected shot on 68. The tie was tilting towards Arsenal as Nicolas Anelka had a goal disallowed, Roy Keane was sent off and Phil Neville tripped Ray Parlour to concede a penalty in stoppage time. But Peter Schmeichel saved Bergkamp's spot-kick superbly, refuelling United with fresh momentum for extra-time. Giggs intercepted Vieira's misplaced pass and ran on (and on), beating defender after defender before lashing a wondrous winning goal into the roof of Seaman's net.

1. May 12 1979 (Final), Wembley
- Arsenal 3-2 Manchester Utd

The 'five-minute final' subjected fans of Terry Neill's Arsenal and Dave Sexton's United to an emotional roller-coaster in the stifling Wembley sun. Brian Talbot (a winner with Ipswich against Arsenal the previous year) put the Gunners ahead early on, and Frank Stapleton - later to join United - added a second before half-time with a trademark header from Liam Brady's cross.

Arsenal were coasting comfortably towards victory until the 86th minute, when Gordon McQueen pulled one back - and then, in the 88th, Sammy McIlroy sensationally jinked his way past two defenders and fired United level. With extra-time suddenly seeming inevitable and the force now indisputably with United, the inspirational Brady took the ball into enemy territory and fed Graham Rix, whose deep cross from the left was met by Alan Sunderland's run almost on the goal-line to restore Arsenal's lead and win the Cup in the last minute.

5 Things We Learned From The Barca Game

This article was written by a young man named Lewis Wright who is an Arsenal fan and aspiring sports journalist, who's going to be writing a weekly piece for them at Vital Arsenal.

5 Things We Learned From The Barcelona Match:

Confidence isn`t Everything

Nicklas Bendtner certainly talks a good game. He has claimed that he will be 'amongst the best strikers in the world` within 5 years. He`s also stated on a number of occasions that he 'deserves to start every game.`

On a recent self confidence test he even outscored Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and David Trezeguet. The test showed that 'When Bendtner misses a chance, he is always genuinely convinced that it wasn`t his fault.` It`s difficult to see who the Dane could blame for missing last night`s sitter.

He has pace, height, an excellent first touch and on occasion, an unnerving ability to finish, but if Bendtner wants to make it to the top work needs to be done on his mind not his game. His hat trick against Leyton Orient was appreciated, and superbly taken, but too many times, when he is given the chance to make a real difference, under real pressure, his usually pristine technique lets him down.

Unless he learns to accept that mistakes happen, and aren`t other people`s fault, it`s hard to see him ever making the Arsenal striker`s shirt his own.

The future of Arsenal is English

For all the pre match talk about Fabregas being back in the team, and Song being absent, the midfield held its own. Diaby was strong in the tackle and as effective in distribution as anyone else.

The moment Arsenal did create, such as the corner that led to the goal, came about when Nasri ran at the Barcelona defence with pace. Walcott would have provided an outlet; a straight route into Barcelona territory. His directness offers the team an alternative and a way of moving the ball at a speed no defender in world football can deal with.

If Guardiola has a B team full of Jack Wilsheres, as suggested, one wonders why the Barcelona B side sit 9 points off the play offs in the Segunda Division, having lost 8 times already. Thiago and Dos Santos may well be quality players, but they`re no Wilshere. At just 19 the midfielder ran the first game at The Emirates, outshining both Xavi and Iniesta. At The Nou Camp his game changed to be more defensive, but he was no less effective for it. He showed his tenacity, passion and willingness to run himself into the ground for the team.

Surely it`s a matter of when, not if Wilshere becomes club captain.

Sometimes Wenger can be adaptable

Much was made of the difference in possession, the difference in passes made, but for all their ball retention it took a Fabregas howler to allow Barcelona to score. Until that point, and indeed, until the red card, Barcelona probed but with no real incisiveness.

Arsenal looked solid and were able to adapt their game to accept there would be fewer chances early on, but to hold on for more quality ones later in the game.

Each time Arsenal have faced Barcelona in the last 2 seasons they have finished the game strongly, scoring goals late on in two of them. For all the fanfare about passing 5 yards sideways over and over, Arsenal are a much fitter and stronger side than Barcelona, and 11 vs 11, history shows they could have expected a much greater chance of holding on to the game and coming back later on. Would Van Persie have accepted the gift that Bendtner spurned? The stats would say yes.

The Referee Choked

Much of the fuss about Van Persie`s dismissal centres around whether he heard the whistle or not. It`s irrelevant. One second passed between the whistle and the shot. One second to react and counter an instinct to score.

The bitter irony is that the very reason that RVP couldn`t hear a whistle is the very same reason the decision was made; crowd noise.


Barcelona is not 'more than club,` it`s just another club

Guardiola crowed about a reserve side packed full of young world beaters. Yet at the last European U21 Championship, England beat Spain on route to the final.

The club`s Director of football Raul Sanllehi claimed he was 'shocked` by the transfer spending in England over the winter saying about Torres` move to Chelsea that 'Barcelona would not make that signing. We would not even consider it.` Barcelona had to borrow £125 million just to pay the team`s wages earlier last year, in the main due to the fact that in the last year only Real Madrid and Manchester City spent more than their 113 million Euros outlay. The year before it was 90 million, with the club spending 66 million Euros on Zlatan Ibrahimovich. He made 29 appearances for the Catalans before leaving to head back to Milan, on loan, for free.

The club claimed Arsenal were 'morally wrong` for using the Spanish League as a 'fishing pond`, and that clubs should choose local talent. Messi was 12 when he moved 6,000 miles to Barcelona, and in the fabled B team there are 'local` products of the youth academy from countries including Brazil, Canada, England and The Netherlands.

Xavi gave an interview to The Guardian where he professed to be a 'football romantic,` and that 'Some youth academies worry about winning, we worry about education.` That education saw Abidal and Valdes see fit to grab RVP round his throat. That education regularly see its players fall to the ground after little to minimal contact and then wave imaginary cards when a foul is given.

Next season the 'more than a club` will be sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, from a country where homosexuality is illegal, dissident bloggers are arrested and Amnesty International have released several warnings about human rights violations.

They may have lost last night, but Arsenal have no reason to believe that Barcelona are superior in anything other than results.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is desperate for a confidence boost at Manchester United on Saturday.

ust two weeks ago the Gunners were still in the running on four fronts but they then gifted Birmingham a late winner in the Carling Cup final before being dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Tuesday night.

A harsh red card for Robin van Persie put paid to Arsenal's hopes in the Camp Nou as their 10 men could not prevent Barca booking their place in the quarter-finals.

Wenger's men are still in the Premier League title race and visit leaders United in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend.

And after the setbacks against Birmingham and Barca, Wenger accepts his players could do with a positive result at Old Trafford to lift their spirits.

"We need it, I must say, because we need help," he said.

"We have been touched severely recently and we are of course chasing after a win of that type.

"I have said since the start of the season that we will go for all of the competitions.

Right attitude

"We have got two left and we lost one in the last minute. We played another against the super favourite of the Champions League and we lost under special circumstances.

"We need to keep the right attitude to turn the luck around on our side a little bit.

"We are disappointed, but we want to focus on our next target, and we have big targets in front of us."

Captain Cesc Fabregas was rushed back into action in midweek and suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem.

That has ruled him out for the weekend and Wenger feels the Spanish star could struggle to make Arsenal's Premier League game at West Brom the following Saturday.

"I don't have any regrets about playing him," insists Wenger. "He said he was fit. When Cesc Fabregas is fit, you play him.

"Cesc is very disappointed because it is becoming a little bit of a problem for him to have a recurrence of his hamstring, but it's a very superficial one."

Fabregas out of United FA Cup clash as Wenger eyes emergency loan replacement for injured goalkeeper Szczesny Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/s

Cesc Fábregas will be out for up to two weeks with a recurrence of a hamstring injury. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images

Arsène Wenger has revealed that the Arsenal captain, Cesc Fábregas, has suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem and could be out for two weeks. "He is very disappointed because it is becoming a bit of a problem for him, but it is very superficial," said the Arsenal manager.

Alex Song and Theo Walcott are also out of the FA Cup quarter-final atManchester United on Saturday, with Robin van Persie a doubt, while Wenger revealed that the club could consider an emergency loan for a goalkeeper as cover for the injured Wojciech Szczesny.

The Frenchman also refuted the Uefa charge of improper conduct in the fallout from Arsenal's Champions League defeat to Barcelona. The manager and the midfielder Samir Nasri have been accused of "inappropriate language" towards the Swiss referee Massimo Busacca after the final whistle at Camp Nou, where Arsenal lost 3-1 after having Van Persie controversially sent off. The disciplinary case will be heard by Uefa on 17 March.

Busacca showed Van Persie a second yellow card for shooting at goal just after he had blown the whistle for offside with the Dutch forward claiming he had not heard it because of the noise of the 95,000-plus crowd.

Wenger confronted the Swiss official after the final whistle and angry exchanges continued inside the tunnel. Speaking at Thursday's press conference ahead of the quarter-final at United, Wenger said: "I deny completely any charge. I do not understand where that comes from. It is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send Robin van Persie off. It was the wrong decision.

"The first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed. People now will only remember the sending off. It would be good for Uefa to show some humility, to apologise for what has happened, not charge people who have done nothing wrong."