Barcelona Always ?Dominated? Arsenal Says Dani Alves

Posted by betensured02 on February 22nd, 2018

Dani Alves says Barcelona always liked playing against Arsenal in the Champions League as they were able to “dominate” them.

The Catalan club eliminated Arsenal from the Champions League in the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2015/16 seasons.

Alves believes the two clubs’ shared philosophy allowed Barcelona to control games against the Gunners, particularly at the Camp Nou, where they scored ten goals in three games.

“We definitely liked to face Arsenal,” Alves told Four Four Two. “They had a similar football style to ours and this sometimes helped to facilitate our way of playing.

“They were a team we dominated and had a control over. Every time we faced Arsenal, we’d have a good result or good performance.”

Arsenal will face the architect of that Barcelona team, Pep Guardiola, when they travel to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.

Guardiola’s Barcelona won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011, beating Manchester United on both occasions.

Alves fondly remembers those Champions League wins and believes the 2011 team that won 3-1 at Wembley is rightly regarded as one of the best of all time.

“Talking to several football experts, they haven’t seen another team as incredible as that Barcelona,” he said.

“We represented the definition of a collective game. We ate, drank and breathed football, so moments like winning the Champions League were rewards for all our efforts.”

Jose Mourinho Is ‘Furious’ Over Man Utd’s Refusal To Spend £40m

Last month, a report from The Mirror suggested that Tottenham would sell the England international for £50 million in January, but it seems the Old Trafford board aren’t as keen as Mourinho to sign the left-back.

The situation is reportedly causing tension between Mourinho and the board.

Rose was heavily linked with a move to United in the summer transfer window, and although Mourinho was desperate to sign four players in the summer, he only ended up getting three: Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic.

Back in August last year, Rose spoke about his immediate future at Tottenham Hotspur and the 27-year-old didn’t hold back in an explosive interview.

Rose, who arguably had the best season of his career in 2016/17, told The Sun that he wants “to play up north”. He also admitted that “time is running out” to win trophies, while suggesting that he wants a pay rise at Spurs.

The defender then went onto admit that he hopes Tottenham make a couple more signings, but “not players you have to Google and say, ‘Who’s that?”

Here’s what Rose told The Sun in a revealing interview: “At my age, and having missed six months with injury, I have been thinking about this quite a lot,” the 27-year-old said.

“I am reaching my peak and have probably only got one big contract left in me. Time is running out and I do want to win trophies. I don’t want to play football for 15 years and not have one trophy or one medal. Sorry, that’s not what I am about. I wouldn’t be happy with that. I want to win something.”

Mourinho has expressed the need for a new left-back and centre midfielder, but as per Miguel Delaney from The Independent, Mourinho has identified Valencia’s Carlos Soler as his No.1 transfer target.

Soler, 20, only made his first-team debut just under a year ago but has been integral to Valencia’s success, making 11 appearances – scoring once and registering four assists.

His performances have alerted Mourinho and his staff, who feel he could a bit of creativity that United have been bereft of in the absence of record signing Paul Pogba.