Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1:Late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin confirmed Arsene Wenger's assertion that his Arsenal side are made of sterner stuff these days and denied Barcelona what had looked like a nailed on victory in the first leg of their Champions League second round tie at the Emirates Stadium.
After a positive start from the homeside the visitors found their feet and Lionel Messi narrowly clipped an effort wide before setting up David Villa for the opener with a precise through ball in the 26th minute.
It prompted a lengthy period of domination from Pep Guardiola’s side but Messi had a goal ruled out for offside and in the second half he missed two he might usually have put away.
It left the door ajar for the Gunners and van Persie took full advantage in the 78th minute when blasting a volley between Victor Valdes and the near post from a tight angle. Arhsavin then latched on to Samir Nasri’s cut back after a lightening counter-attack seven minutes from time to set up a mouth-watering tie at the Nou Camp on March 8th.
It crowned a win over “the best side in football’s history,” according to Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas, who refused to get carried away.
“They don’t lose many games. They are the best side in football’s history in my opinion," he said. “This is 180 minutes. It’s a nice victory. It will give confidence to the team but that’s all.”
Asked what the difference was between this year and last, when they were outplayed by Barca, he said: “First of all we don’t have five or six injured players.
“Second, we are all one year older. We are mature enough to play big games. We showed it here but if we don’t show it (in the second leg in Barcelona) it’s nothing.”
Asked what the Gunners’ game-plan was, Van Persie told ITV1: “Just to play our own game.
“In my opinion, and in our opinion, if you drop back too much they are so good they will in the end beat you by far. We had to beat them in their own style.
“We got a bit lucky but it was a fantastic win.”
Roma 2 Shakhtar Donetsk 3:Shakhtar Donetsk scored three goals in 13 minutes to claim a stunning win in the night's other tie at Roma.
Simone Perrotta put Roma ahead in the 28th minute before Jadson equalised a minute later after his effort took a deflection off Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.
Douglas Costa then gave the visitors a 36th-minute lead before Luiz Adriano made it 3-1 before half-time. Roma striker Jeremy Menez reduced arrears on the hour mark but the Italians could not find the equaliser.
The result piles further pressure on Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, whose team went into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Napoli and 5-3 loss at Inter Milan.
