20 years ago, Arsene Wenger’s side had the unfortunate luck of running into Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final.
Lionel Messi was still in his teens, had not yet conquered the world, and wasn’t fit enough to feature in the final, but Barcelona still had a ridiculously talented team. Ludovic Giuly, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o were in attack; Deco was near the peak of his powers in midfield; and Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes were in the middle of long stays at the club.
Arsenal’s starting lineup was a little different to the classic 4-4-2s normally associated with the days of Wenger and his rival Alex Ferguson. Freddie Ljungberg supported Thierry Henry up front that night. Dennis Bergkamp – himself not an ordinary striker – remained on the bench that night.
Lineups
Barcelona: Victor Valdes; Oleguer; Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Giovanni van Bronckhorst; Edmilson, Deco, Mark van Bommel; Ludovic Giuly, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o
Arsenal: Jens Lehmann; Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole; Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Alexander Hleb; Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry
Champions League and how the 2006 final played out
The Champions League final is one of the most-watched football games around the world. Supporters clubs across continents gather to watch European nights. For example, the Arsenal Supporters Club of South Africa regularly meets in Johannesburg. South Africans betting on Arsenal on 10bet.co.za would have been delighted to see Mikel Arteta’s team get past Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals this year.
Back in 2006, Arsenal – wearing their yellow away strip – looked the better team in the opening quarter of an hour. Henry forced Valdes to make two saves.
But Lehmann made things much more difficult after 18 minutes. The keeper brought down Eto’o just outside the box and became the first ever player to receive a red card in a European Cup final.
Despite being down to 10, Arsenal went ahead toward the end of the first half, courtesy of a Campbell header.
At half-time, Andres Iniesta came on for the injured Edmilson (leaving Xavi on the bench). Henrik Larsson was brought on 15 minutes later, who set up Eto’o for a smooth equaliser.
Just a few minutes later, Larsson provided a second assist, this time for Beletti (another sub).
Arsenal pushed forward late on, but Barcelona held on and had the best chance themselves, with Giuly missing a good opportunity. The final finished 2-1 to Barca.
How does the current Arsenal team compare?
The most obvious difference between Wenger’s side and Arteta’s is the lack of a true world superstar. Bukayo Saka has been one of the Premier League’s best players over the last five years, but no one would argue he is at the level of Henry.
Declan Rice has been compared to previous Premier League greats Patrick Vieira and his old foe Roy Keane.
With Pires, Fabregas, and Ljungberg regularly playing in Wenger’s midfield, it’s fair to say that side was more creative too. Some have predicted Odegaard to become a club great but he has struggled (by his high standards) for much of this season.
Wenger had Bergkamp, Jose Antonio Reyes, and Robin van Persie to call from the bench, so there isn’t much competition in attacking depth between the two sides.
But Arteta has more defensive depth: at left-back alone, he can choose from Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Jurrien Timber when needed. Talented defenders and midfielders like Ben White, Christian Mosquera, and Mikel Merino often have to sit on the bench.
Wenger’s and Arteta’s trophy cabinets
Wenger left Arsenal having won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups. He led the Invincibles, arguably the greatest side in Premier League history, to an entire season unbeaten in 2003-04 (a total of 49 league games without a loss). Many of those players also featured in 2006 – the biggest difference being the absence of Vieira and the emergence of Fabregas.
Arteta won a major trophy in his first season as a manager, lifting the FA Cup, having only been appointed in the previous December. He’s had his fair share of critics in the years since, not least for his style of football and prioritisation of set pieces, but has regularly challenged his mentor Pep Guardiola at the top of the Premier League.
What Barcelona went on to achieve
That 2006 victory was Barca’s first European Cup win in 14 years. They finished the following season trophyless, and in 2008 only finished third in LaLiga. That prompted a new era and the hiring of Barcelona B coach, Guardiola.
Guardiola led Barcelona to fourteen trophies in just four years, which included three LaLiga titles, adding to the six he won as a player.
Image Source: unsplash.com