Pep Guardiola said in his press conference prior to the game with Arsenal that the key to winning involves passing the ball around quickly, playing lots of touches and keeping it simple.
Guardiola made it clear that against the Londoners “we’ll have to be very quick and
keep our concentration until the end if we want to have an option of getting through the round. If
we keep the ball flowing around nicely, playing lots of touches and basically keeping it simple,
we’ll have a better chance of making the semi finals”.
Importance of qualifying
The
coach believes their future rests on Tuesday’s result. “Making it through this round or
not will decide everything” he said. “So we have to stay alive in the Champions League
in order to be optimistic about the eight league matches we have left.”
Keeping the ball
Arsenal and Barça are two teams that like to control the ball and play attacking football.
Neither side likes to sit back and speculate, and Guardiola knows this could have a massive bearing
on the way the game goes. “Whoever maintains possession of the ball and makes the other team
run will take this match. We played very well over there and displayed good football but they can
play too and that’s why they came back for a draw.”
Almunia stopped everything
At
the Emirates Stadium, Barça got off to an exceptional start, but failed to turn any of the many
chances into goals. Guardiola knows why. “I made it clear. If we didn’t score in the
first quarter of an hour when we created eleven chances to score, it was because Almunia stopped
the lot. He was amazing and left us with zero options.”
Question mark over Iniesta
It is still not clear whether Andrés Iniesta, who was injured at the Ono Estadi, will be fit
in time to play a part in the game with Arsenal. “He has got better over the last few days.
It will depend a lot on how he feels after training this evening and tomorrow morning” said
Guardiola.
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"We can do it with everyone’s help"
Guardiola once again highlighted how important the Camp Nou faithful are. “We’re hoping
a lot of people will come and support us. The fans never let us down for big games like these and
if we are to qualify, we’ll need their help. We have to fight for this together.”