Final a victory for the neutral

FOR a few hours late on Wednesday night, the capital of France was turned into the capital of Catalonia, as Barcelona cars flew up and down the Champs Elysees, horns blaring and scarves and flags flying.

Fans thronging the pavement cafes responded with full-blooded renditions of the Barca anthem, as the joy of becoming champions of Europe for only the second time was unleashed.

As you might imagine, Arsenal fans were pretty thin on the ground, the majority disappearing into the sticky Paris night as they struggled to cope with the sickening after-effects of a strictly footballing version of what Gooners now like to call ‘Tottenham Tummy’.

It’s tough for any team’s supporters to see their hopes shattered in such sudden death fashion but, in a European football week otherwise dominated by scandal in Italy, there was every reason for the neutral to celebrate along with the Catalans. Unusually for one of the giants of the game, Barca are more PC than PLC. Member-owned, their admission prices are kept well within reach of the ordinary fan – €101 a year for the cheapest season ticket at the Nou Camp as against the €885 which will lighten the load on the cheapest seat at Arsenal’s new Emirates stadium. It’s refreshing too to note the absence of a sponsor’s name on the famous red and blue shirts — and for the coming season the club is even considering carrying a humanitarian message on their strip.

Perhaps it might urge us to spare a thought for the misfiring Gunners.

Jens Lehmann’s red card may have been the major turning – and talking — point, but in terms of the action which had a measurable impact on the result, the final in the Stade de France was ultimately about Barcelona’s ability to finish where Arsenal could not.

At various times during Wednesday night’s game, Thierry Henry threatened to outshine Ronaldinho but if this was to be the Arsenal captain’s last game for the club, honesty demands that in the cold light of day he will remember it mainly for critical chances spurned.

Twice he was through, one on one, with Victor Valdes, and twice the normally clinical Frenchman failed to find the net. For Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o showed how it should be done before Juliano Belletti sealed their devastating comeback victory just four minutes later – although, in both cases, Arsenal’s substitute ‘keeper Manuel Almunia should probably have done more to keep out shots which managed to find the net from narrow angles.

Still, you couldn’t but feel a lot of sympathy for Arsenal, who had rallied superbly after the early sending off and might even have struck the match-winning blow on the break, before finally succumbing to a combination of relentless pressure, their own mental and physical fatigue, and a stunning double reminder of why Barcelona end the competition as its highest scorers with 24 goals.

Ronaldinho may have given us only brief excerpts from his greatest hits collection rather than the full virtuoso performance, but there were still flashes of brilliance from the Brazilian of the kind to which the only legitimate response is one of child-like awe. One angled pass from the left into the box was especially breathtaking. Like the TGV, it travelled a considerable distance at great speed and arrived bang on time, with only a terrific last ditch intervention by Ashley Cole preventing Giuly from getting a clear sight of goal.

Still, it was kind of fun to see the great man completely mis-hit an effort on goal in the second-half – reassuring evidence that the wizard who can even sprinkle gold dust on a toe poke, is at least partially human.

For the madly passionate fans of Barcelona, everything is gravy just now.

Champions of Spain and now Champions of Champions, their ecstasy is only intensified by the troubles which have afflicted arch-rivals Real Madrid this season.

But for Arsenal, a season which rested on a knife-edge going into Wednesday’s final now looks like tipping into the danger zone. Bergkamp and Pires are definitely gone, and Henry and Cole could follow suit.

Arsene Wenger has all along preached a firm belief in the developing qualities of his team, even as sceptics remained resolutely unconvinced until the liberation of Europe and their late resurgence in the Premiership caused opinions to be revised.

Now, virtually overnight, the doubts will return, with even tougher questions set to be asked of the likes of Fabregas, Eboue and Flamini as they step up to the shiny new plate in Ashburton Grove next time around.

The doomsday scenario, of course, would see the incomparable Thierry Henry taking his leave. Should the latter day king of Highbury depart before his team takes to the Emirates, then Sven Goran Eriksson won’t be the only one hoping that young Theo Walcott arrives on the big stage with a bang.