Arsenal especially did well. There is little doubt that Barcelona are the best team in the world; and for around seventy minutes they looked every bit as good as their reputation tells. Lionel Messi had a quiet night by his standards, but still had a glorious chance and assisted David Villa with a superb through-ball. Xavi and Andres Iniesta controlled the game from midfield, Arsenal gave them too much space to start off with and it looked like it was Barca's game all over. They could even snatch a couple more goals in this.Their mistake came in settling for the one. The game descended into a lull, the Spanish side lost that crucial bit of concentration and Arsenal could sense their chance. Robin Van Persie, who had given his all but struggled infront of goal until now, got into a decent position and fired a bullet that Victor Valdes should have stopped. The Gunners had the momentum now, and Andrey Arshavin's winner was as good a counter-attacking goal as you will see; Barcelona would have been proud. It was a great win for the English side and it had an English feel about it - they fought for everything until the end and the jubilation in the fans at the end was a great sight.
But the biggest plus for Arsenal - and for England - was the performance of Jack Wilshere. England manager Fabio Capello laid down a challenge for the country's newest prodigy last week; to carry on his recent star performances against the best club side around and boy, did he. He was composed, calm and cool, had an eye for a key pass and always looking to go forward in a performance that looked years past his age. Fabio needs to take note; Jack is more than ready for international football in my opinion but he needs to be used to his full potential. He's not a Claude Makelele player, he needs to be further and there he can star for England - much like he did last night in a terrific Arsenal victory.
There was also joy for England in Italy. Tottenham have been somewhat of a surprise package in the Champions League this year, but a welcome revelation to the normally tightly-contested group stages. The games against Inter Milan, ruled by Gareth Bale, showed how an attacking philosophy can bring you goals, and when Harry Redknapp vowed to keep that approach for the knockout stages, everyone breathed a sigh of relief - although many didn't expect them to do so well in the San Siro.But it shouldn't come as a surprise, as AC Milan typify Italian football at the moment - aging. The likes of Nesta, Gattuso and Seedorf are getting much older now, so the likes of Aaron Lennon, Palacios and Van der Vaart have the pace and skill to get in and around them. Add in Gareth Bale and a return to fitness of Luka Modric for White Hart Lane, and I can see Spurs progressing further. And now they have the first leg lead, Milan will need to change their approach - Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho need to make a bigger impact if their side is going to have any chance of getting through.
Well done to Spurs to get this far though; like I said their attacking play has been a joy to watch at times this season. And they showed they can rough it with a resilient performance in Italy up against a tough-tackling Milan side. Gattuso is a nasty piece of work and rightly faces a ban for his actions towards Spurs coach Joe Jordan, but how Mathieu Flamini wasn't shown a straight red card for his horror challenge on Vedran Corluka I'll never know. Corluka is lucky to only have ligament damage as opposed to a broken leg, must be a French thing. But again it was great to see Lennon break free and supply Peter Crouch for that priceless away winner - and to see two English players key in a Champions League match.
To add to this even further, both English sides and Scotland's representative still in the Europa League are in with a fantastic chance of progressing. Liverpool may have played out a dull nil-nil draw with Sparta Prague in their first last-32 tie, but this could have been a potential banana skin for the Reds so I'm sure Kenny Daglish will be pleased he is taking a clean slate back to Anfield. The same with Roberto Mancini, just edit in Manchester City, Aris Salonika and the City of Manchester Stadium. Rangers have the harder task thanks to a late Matiaz Fernandes goal at Ibrox that sees Sporting Lisbon take the slight advantage for the return leg in Portugal, but it's not mission impossible. Rangers will take a lot of character to Estadio Jose Alvalade and I can see them nicking that away goal that will bring this tie even again. Both in with a shout.So yes, it has been a very good week for England, and Britain. It has seen two sides take steps to progressing in the Champions League; Spurs will now be confident but Arsenal are experienced enough to know that the Barcelona job is nowhere near done yet. But to see Jack Wilshere grow at an extraordinary rate to become an international star is brilliant for all England fans, and topped off with winning contributions from Lennon and Crouch in Milan and the realistic progressions of Rangers, Manchester City and Liverpool, it hasn't been a bad one at all. Come on United and Chelsea, let's make it an English quadruple into the quarters of the Champions League, and how much do you reckon I would win if I put a fiver on a combination of Rangers-Liverpool-Manchester City Europa League final?
NWR
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