Barcelona vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger needs a quick answer to his striking problem

Making a mark: Mesut Ozil
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James Olley15 March 2016

The statistics alone are frightening. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have 103 goals in all competitions this season. Barca rattled six past La Liga strugglers Getafe last Saturday, even with Messi missing a penalty and Suarez rested altogether.

Messi ended his wait to score against Petr Cech in the first leg against the Gunners as Luis Enrique’s side acquired a 2-0 advantage in their Champions League last-16 tie which leaves Arsenal with little alternative than to go for broke when they reconvene here in Catalonia for the second leg.

Of course, a policy of all-out attack from the start could end in humiliation given the space it would give Barcelona’s front three to wreak havoc in the cavernous Nou Camp but at some stage they will have to throw caution to the wind.

Arsene Wenger’s team selection for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat against Watford reflected the importance of that game but also may have hinted at his plans for Barca.

Arsenal will almost certainly sit deep and look to hit on the break — Barca’s ultra-high pressing style gives visiting teams little alternative — and therefore Wenger will look to pack his team with pace at the top end of the pitch.

Wenger’s line-up is yet to be finalised but Danny Welbeck is understood to be in line to lead the attack with Alexis Sanchez on the left and a choice between Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell on the right, either side of Mesut Ozil.

Welbeck started Arsenal’s last big League game, at Tottenham, and he was surely left on the bench two days ago with tomorrow in mind. His spell on the sidelines seems to have somehow immunised him against the lack of confidence in Arsenal’s other strikers.

His 68th-minute introduction on Sunday came alongside Walcott and Alex Iwobi but it was Welbeck who injected genuine quality into Arsenal’s attacking play, combining exquisitely with Ozil to halve the deficit against Watford.

However, Welbeck has never been the most clinical finisher — Manchester United manager’s Louis van Gaal’s damning assessment of his career goalscoring record effectively convinced him to sell — and that profligacy was evidenced by a staggering late miss with the goal at his mercy which ensured Watford progressed to the next round.

The Gunners will need to be ruthless in front of goal to have any chance against Barca. Olivier Giroud may feel hard done by if he loses out to Welbeck but although he scored twice against Hull last week, that brace was his only contribution in the last 13 games.

Welbeck averages a goal every four games in European competition throughout his career but his pace on the counter-attack — and defensive diligence — make him a prime candidate to start.

Walcott’s speed has frightened Barcelona in the past and although he is badly out of form, he would at least be best suited to the gameplan in theory.

The 26-year-old has scored just four goals in his last 24 appearances, however, and given Campbell has performed encouragingly almost every time he has been called upon, Wenger faces a genuine dilemma as to who supplements Welbeck, Ozil and Sanchez in his front four.

What Arsenal must do in Barcelona

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Sanchez has not been short of effort since returning from a hamstring injury but things are not clicking for him as during his first season at the club. He has scored just twice in 11 games in 2016 and is largely falling short of the talismanic impact that epitomised those early days. Perhaps a return to his former club will inspire a return to form.

Arsenal will certainly need it. This season, Wenger has largely brushed aside criticism of his team’s defending but admitted the lack of goals is a concern. His faltering forwards will come up against an awkward comparison tomorrow, albeit factoring in the less rigorous demands of Spain’s top flight.

Of the Barca triumvirate’s 103, Suarez leads the way with 42, Messi 36 and Neymar 25, all amassed from 49 games. By contrast, Giroud (20), Welbeck (3), Walcott (8), Sanchez (11), Ozil (7) and Campbell (4) have 53 between all of them from 44 matches in all competitions including the Community Shield.

This is the collection of attacking players Wenger has assembled and when he points to the £75million outlay for Suarez or the much-debated £71m figure for Neymar, Sanchez and Ozil both cost in excess of £35m and the club’s £159.4m cash balance suggests they could at least consider bids for players with the highest price-tags.

Of course, that £159.4m also includes cashflow, a contingency fund for failing to qualify for the Champions League and other running costs but considerable funding has gone unused. While Arsenal’s financial prudence is the template for a well-run business, Barca have found themselves embroiled in various tax avoidance cases as their off-field dealings are scrutinised. The problem is the Gunners’ business sensibility won’t help the team tomorrow.

It is worth remembering Arsenal botched an attempt to sign Suarez in 2013. Liverpool’s reluctance made a move unlikely but Suarez was interested and the £40,000,001 figure only served to embolden the Anfield club’s reluctance to do the deal.

Wenger also infrequently regales the story of how Messi almost joined Arsenal as a teenager. Plenty of other top forwards — Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo among them — nearly came to Arsenal at one time or another but didn’t. This is the crop he settled on. They must do the job in tough circumstances tomorrow.

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