Guns turn to Barca after Mick’s ‘Arse kicking’

THE visit of Barcelona would dominate thoughts at any time but when the memory of last season’s meeting with the Catalans is still raw in the memory, there can be no surprise that Wednesday’s Champions League meeting dominated Arsenal’s thoughts on Saturday.

And caught in the middle — and suffering the brunt — was poor Mick McCarthy’s Wolves

Yes there was the important matter of restoring self-belief in the wake of the previous weekend’s humbling experience at Newcastle when Arsene Wenger’s side allowed a four-goal lead to slip.

Manchester United’s earlier victory in the Manchester derby also increased the pressure on the Gunners if they wanted to avoid slipping further behind in the Premier League title race.

But a routine victory over Wolves was always expected and then duly delivered. Job done, focus shifted to Barcelona and Arsenal’s chances of avoiding the kind of humiliating experience that scarred them last season.

The first half of the first leg at the Emirates last year saw Pep Guardiola’s side deliver a footballing masterclass to a manager and group of players who pride themselves on doing exactly that to less talented opponents.

And while a stirring late recovery meant they travelled to the Nou Camp on level terms, pain was again inflicted, this time almost exclusively by Lionel Messi who produced a performance worthy of a player who aspires to be not only the best player in the world, but one of the best in the history of the game.

Arsenal were left shell-shocked and while Guardiola’s side is arguably even stronger this time around, Wenger is confident his side is more capable of matching them.

His confidence has been strengthened by the belief that Samir Nasri, the Gunners’ outstanding player this season, is likely to be fit for the game after initially being ruled out with a hamstring injury picked up in the recent FA Cup tie with Huddersfield.

“He will take fitness tests, one on Monday, one on Tuesday,” said the manager. “I will not take a crazy gamble, but if he is medically and physically....physically he has worked very hard in the last week. Physically he is ready, just if there is a risk to have a setback.”

Wenger needs all the good players he can get and Nasri is certainly one of those. His belief that this year can be different, however, is further strengthened by the emergence of Jack Wilshere and the growing maturity of players like Theo Walcott.

Wilshere showed for England in Denmark he is maturing fast and he seemed to have returned from Copenhagen with even more swagger in his stride. Walcott, meanwhile, scared Barcelona at the Emirates last season and he too is growing up fast, as evidenced by his weighted ball that teed up the second of Robin van Persie’s two goals on Saturday.

“I personally believe we go into the Barcelona game in better shape than last year,” Wenger said. “Last year we had many uncertainties, the team for me had less confidence, we have matured better, we can certainly compete technically better with them. We are in a better shape this time.”

Wenger, though, is wise enough not to diminish the Catalans’ threat. “They are not just good attacking, they also defend very well and for us it will be very important to get out of their pressure,” he added.

“If we can get out of that pressure then I think we can be dangerous so for us we have to think about what we do and how we do it.”

Barcelona will come and go, however, and no matter what the outcome of that tie, the Gunners are competing on three other fronts and in the league, their position as United’s main challengers was consolidated by the weekend’s events.

Van Persie’s first goal was an eloquent response to Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick about 45 minutes earlier in the afternoon and the Holland international believes the title race is delicately balanced with the London side sitting four points behind the leaders.

“I heard about the score and that Rooney scored a great goal so it stays the same in the league,” said the striker. “So I think it’s game on. They have a really difficult schedule and we have two home games.”

Wolves manager McCarthy had no excuses, offering the blunt assessment that his side had never been in the game and adding he hated to hear managers make excuses when their sides have been totally out-played. He said: “Yes, it pisses me off unbelievably because I’ve watched the same games and I hear them come on and tell me that they’ve played well.

“We could not have done anything today. They absolutely pumped us. I’ve got a big mark on my arse where I’ve had it kicked. I’m going home.”