Arsenal out of Champion League

Barcelonan melodies flood the air of the Nou Camp. The colossal swarm of spectators rise to their feet, as their heroes stride proudly across the luscious, green turf.

Spanish scarfs spiral in the stands, Catalonian fists punch the humid air, the entire stadium is a blur of red and blue, contrasted with the ghost white faces of Arsenal’s petrified players.

With a roaring cheer, the match kicks off, as The Gunners’ worst fears begin to unfurl before their resisting eyes…

Playing against a team labelled by Graeme Souness as ‘ The best there’s ever been’ is never going to be easy. But as Barcelona unleashed their faultlessly fluent football upon Wenger’s Young Guns, there was only ever going to be one winner.

The Spanish team dominated the game with such class that Arsenal spent the majority of the game like dogs seeking their bone.

After Barça’s first goal, the door to qualification was rapidly closing for the English football giants. But a defensive error by Sergio Busquets was all they needed to get back on track.

Arsenal attempted to manoeuvre their play more wisely.

Then came the incident that still reverberates throughout the football world.

Van Persie received the ball just outside the penalty area. The referee blew his whistle for offside. One second later, the official time, van Persie unleashed his shot. It was wildly off target.

With the knowledge that the away team would be trying to waste as much time as possible, since the current score meant that they would be going through to the next round, the referee awarded Robin a second yellow card. Whilst the centre forward protested in disbelief, Wenger was left fuming on the sidelines.

When van Persie finally trudged off the pitch, Barcelona were allowed to return to their spectacular display.

Steam was nearly spouting from Arsene Wenger’s nostrils. He lambasted the referee to such an extent that he has been called to account by The Football Association. Wenger, in turn, has demanded an apology from them for causing his Gunners to be shot down.

There are 86,400 seconds in a day. Who would have thought that one of them could have caused so much trouble!

By Maxim , Year 8, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar, Alford