Welcome to the Jungle, Gunners.
Hot on the heels of a stunning 2-1 comeback win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League matchup, Arsenal will be hoping to repeat the feat against FC Barcelona today in Spain.
This is one of those “must-watch” games for all soccer fans, and the type of game that makes believers of the greatest detractors of the beautiful game. Those who complain about the lack of goals, the theatrics, and in-game tactics and ball movement that are hard to appreciate best tune in. This is a football matchup the gods would be proud of.
FC Barcelona, the record-breaking Catalans who carry the mantle for the modern day game and possess the trophy cabinet to back up that claim, take on Arsenal, arguably London’s finest — the only team in the English Premier League era to go undefeated in a season and the torch bearer for the beautiful game on the island known for its more direct (and highly unattractive) style of play.
Today at 2:45 pm EST, Barça and the Gunners do battle in the second half of the most intriguing sweet sixteen matchup of this year’s Champions League. For a preview of what could happen, check out the extended highlights from their Champions League match a year ago, including the epic first half when as Tom Adams for ESPN Soccernet writes, “the Catalans tore through their hosts less like a knife through butter, and more like a machete through margarine.”
An Unbounded Life 