News

Wenger - How Barcelona have changed

By Lloyd Webb

Arsene Wenger says Barcelona have become quicker in their attacking transitions under Luis Enrique.

The former Spain midfielder won the treble in his first season in charge, and his side are 32 games unbeaten this term.

Wenger says Barcelona have adapted their approach since the last time Arsenal faced them in 2011 as they now focus less on keeping the ball.

"Against Barcelona we will have the ball far less and we will have to make more of it"

Arsene Wenger

“They look like they have a little less possession than when we played them before because they had a player like Xavi in midfield who, in every single game, had over 100 passes and he allowed them always to have possession,” he said.

“At the moment they have a team who, at any moment, can score. Even when they are dominated, they are still very dangerous.

“That happened in the Champions League final last year against Juventus - when it was 1-1 they were a bit suffering, but in one moment they could take advantage of any weakness to score to make it 2-1. That is where they are dangerous. They are a bit less possession-based, but quicker in the transition.

ADVERT

"Certainly offensively they have top, top strikers at the moment. We have to use every moment in the game where we have the chance to score, and as I said after the Hull game, we had 70 per cent of the time the ball but we didn’t make a lot of it. Against Barcelona we will have the ball far less and we will have to make more of it."

 

Training pre-Barcelona

 

See Full List

Fixtures & Results

Premier League
Ticket Info