Fear nobody (not even Barca)!

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
31 Mar	7:45 PM	CL	Barcelona (H)	2	2	Draw

I type this out furiously and with the adrenaline still pumping as I awake in the relatively unfamiliar surroundings of my old school mate Basit's guestroom. And, I must admit that as the Champions League quarter final BBC live text updates flashed upon my screen with Arsenal v Barcelona, there was only one initial word on my mind: "F***"!"

Giving myself a moment or two to compose myself and think this out rationally, my next thoughts were: "Goodbye, and goodnight!"

Having allowed myself to give my thoughts plenty more time to swallow this up and think this through properly, I then remembered the old adage that you've simply got to beat the best to be the best.

This is what we will have to do. And they can do it.

Okay, Barcelona are the reigning European champions, having also swept their along to every trophy they could've got their hands on last season. They have bags of winning experience; trophy-winning experience, and boast a near-impeccable home record in European knock out matches.

Add to that of course their inspirational young manager in Josép Guardiola, their magical midfield duo of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, etc etc.

Oh, and as if I would've left him out. There is of course the small (but deadly) matter of Lionel Messi; arguably the best footballer on the planet.

And, of course, it will be interesting to see how a certain Thierry Henry fares against his old club, and what sort of contribution he will make, for what promises to be an emotional affair for many (not least for him) in that respect.

But, all that said, and going back to the "beat the best to be the best" cliché, and we must look at this as the perfect opportunity to make ourselves stand up and be counted across Europe. I was suitably annoyed, furious is the word, in fact, to see the absolute dismissal of our chances should the inevitable have happened by drawing either Manchester United or the reigning European champions. Now, it is one thing dismissing our own chances, but witnessing what seems to be the whole country's nonchalant desire to see Arsenal come unstuck is what I take issue with.

For all these teams' experience, and for all their quality, the "experts" (and that does not include the columnists from the various tabloids) seem to have forgotten that we are there for a reason. That we are fighting for the title for a reason. And we will not simply stand back in awe and allow Barcelona to run rings round us and pirouette their way through to the last four.

At least that's the plan anyway.

The best way to answer the doubters will be on the pitch. Putting aside the fact that ninety percent of the world will have written us off by now, let's not forget that this is the ultimate tie for the football purist. Without stating the obvious too much, both teams enjoy similar styles of play, both emphasising the importance of a football philosophy based on developing and nurturing youthful talent. All well and good, of course, but Barcelona have reaped the rewards, crucially supplementing their fantastic youth with one or two key signings in the spine.

It does not take a genius to conclude that Arsenal have yet to reap anything from their years and years of ongoing transition and development. Who knows, this might be it, the start of something truly special?

As I said, and as all of you will concur, we should have nothing to fear, and with a bit of luck, and lots of meticulous planning (I'm sure Wenger will already be on Barca's case, and that is despite his "one game at a time" principle), we must go into this tie knowing that it is between two top clubs in European football, who play the best football on show in club football.

Granted, Barcelona are the favourites to go through, and the favourites to go on and win the coveted trophy yet again, courtesy of all the immediate post-draw preamble that I had gone on about earlier.

The only shame is the fact that we have been drawn at home in the first leg, although we can look at it as an opportunity to go in on the front foot ahead of the Camp Nou decider.

Crucially, we must not make an obsession of Barcelona, knowing that, as we will be wary of the challenge ahead in two absorbing contests, the Catalonian giants will be equally pensive, aware that it can go either way.

Finally, and we turn our attentions to West Ham for this weekend (one game at a time, remember?), I leave you with a (somewhat) inspirational quote from Bayern Munich's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (I am sorry, but at the time of writing, there is nothing forthcoming from Arsenal):

"We are playing against the favourites, but that is where the attraction lies: to try to beat the favourite".

And try we will!

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