Arsenal: 10 Reasons To Be Satisfied With Barcelona UCL Draw

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3. Arsenal have Mesut Ozil

The last time Arsenal faced Barcelona in the same stage back in 2011, Arsenal won the home leg 2-1 but succumbed to a 3-1 away loss. A 4-3 aggregate is actually a very respectable result. Especially when considering Arsenal was in the midst of paying off the Emirates and losing their star players left and right. That time is over and Arsenal has been able to spend money recently.

That 4-3 aggregate score was without the creative genius that drives this offense now – Mesut Ozil. This is what Mesut Ozil can do against Barcelona:

And he’s even better now. Ozil is a creative genius that Barcelona would love to get their paws on. Luckily he is firmly embedded in the Arsenal culture and he will take that creativity to a Barcelona that is not physical enough to cause Ozil many troubles on the ball.

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Barcelona is a team like Arsenal that likes to control the ball and dominate possession. So does Ozil. But in all likelihood, Arsenal will be striking primarily on the counter attack. It just so happens that Mesut Ozil is even better in that scenario, which is a scenario that he not often found himself having to take part in at Real Madrid.

Mesut Ozil has a history against Barcelona. He knows how they tick. It will be just another day at the office when he takes them on in the Champions League.

Mesut Ozil has finally come into the form that Wenger bought him for. There are few that could stand in his way and stop him. Barcelona’s play style does not strike me as a type that can accomplish that feat.

We are down to the final two reasons why Arsenal drawing Barcelona is no big deal. Let’s get ambitious.

Next: 2. It had to happen at some point