{"id":1091056,"date":"2021-09-09T17:50:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T16:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1091056"},"modified":"2021-09-10T17:43:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T16:43:02","slug":"arsenal-team-beat-barcelona-2011-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/arsenal-team-beat-barcelona-2011-champions-league\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened to the Arsenal team that beat Barcelona in 2011?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Impressive strikes\u00a0from Robin van Persie\u00a0and Andrey Arshavin\u00a0gave Arsenal<\/span> their first ever victory against Barcelona<\/span> and proved the Gunners<\/span> could genuinely compete against their Spanish rivals.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wednesday, 16 February 2011. After finishing second in their group behind Shakhtar Donetsk, Arsenal<\/span> were drawn against Barcelona<\/span> in the last-16 of the Champions League and were set to face their Catalan rivals — managed by Pep Guardiola<\/span> — at the Emirates in the first leg.<\/p>\n

The visitors gained an early advantage when David Villa’s first-half strike found\u00a0the back of the net, silencing the home crowd. But as the Catalans continued to miss a handful of opportunities, Arsenal<\/span> severely punished them with two late goals that sent the fans into\u00a0elation, handing Arsene Wenger’s side the victory.<\/p>\n

Wenger — whose excellent, positive substitutions forced his side to the memorable comeback — described the game as a “special night” and praised the attitude of his players. While Guardiola<\/span>‘s side remained favourites to win the tie, Arsenal<\/span>‘s tireless endeavour had proved\u00a0too much for Barcelona<\/span>, as the Gunners<\/span> had successfully set-up a thrilling second-leg.<\/p>\n

The less said about what happened at the Camp Nou — Barcelona<\/span> won 3-1 and Van Persie was sent off — the better, but regardless of the Gunners<\/span> once again crashing out of the tournament at the hands of Barca<\/span>, who went on to win the competition, the side that grabbed a victory in 2011 deserve their plaudits.<\/p>\n

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at where the 2011 Arsenal<\/span> side that beat Barcelona are now.<\/p>\n

Starting XI:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Career path: <\/span><\/strong>Arsenal, Brentford (loan), Roma (loan), Juventus<\/p>\n

Current club:\u00a0<\/strong>Juventus<\/p>\n

Having come of age during a loan spell at Brentford, Szczesny looked like he was going to become one of the Arsenal<\/span> greats, but despite a number of excellent performances, he didn\u2019t quite cut it. After a brilliant start to life in north London, he had a disastrous 2014\/15 season that involved several individual errors and off-field incidents – being dropped after getting caught smoking in the showers after a game against Southampton<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“Back at that time I was smoking regularly and the boss knew it very well,” he told the Arsenal Nation<\/a> podcast recently.<\/p>\n

“He just didn’t want anybody smoking in the dressing rooms and I knew that also. Because of the emotion of the game, I had a cigarette after the game when the team was still in.<\/p>\n

“I went in the corner of the showers, so it was at the other end of the dressing room and nobody could see me, and I lit one up.<\/p>\n

“Somebody saw me, it wasn’t even the boss himself, and just reported it back to the boss. I saw him a couple of days later, he asked me if that was true and I said, ‘Yes’. He fined me and that was the end of it.”<\/p>\n

Arsenal<\/span> eventually kept faith in his David Ospina – due to good form – and signed Petr Cech,\u00a0leading\u00a0the Polish international\u00a0to be\u00a0loaned out to Roma.<\/p>\n

Szczesny then moved to Juventus in 2017, where he has been the long-term successor to legendary ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon, even when the Italian returned following a stint at PSG.<\/p>\n

Right-back: Emmanuel Eboue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Career path: <\/strong>ASEC Mimosas, Beveren, Arsenal<\/span>, Galatasaray, Sunderland<\/p>\n

Current club: <\/strong>Retired<\/p>\n

An Arsenal<\/span> cult hero, Emmanuel Eboue spent seven years with the Gunners<\/span> and was part of the side that got to the Champions League final in the 2005\/06 season. The marauding right-back’s unorthodox style didn’t quite make him one of the finest technical players they’ve ever seen at the Emirates, but his attitude, commitment and desire swiftly turned the Ivorian into a fan favourite.<\/p>\n

After 214 appearances for Arsenal<\/span>, he left the club for Galatasaray. A total of 102 games in the Turkish league later, he was released by the club before a short spell at Sunderland in 2016.<\/p>\n

Eboue made headlines in late 2017 when his financial struggles were made public. Following this, he was offered a coaching role with Galatasaray’s U-14s and has now started his own academy in the Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Centre-back: Laurent Koscielny<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Career path: <\/strong>Guingamp, Tours, Lorient, Arsenal<\/span>, Bordeaux<\/p>\n

Current club: <\/strong>Bordeaux<\/p>\n

The last member of this squad to leave Arsenal<\/span>, Laurent Koscielny called time on his Gunners career in 2019 by moving to Bordeaux — a decision that was marred by the slightly controversial nature of his unveiling, taking off an Arsenal<\/span> top to reveal Bordeaux.<\/p>\n

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Nouveau joueur, nouveau maillot, retrouvez-le d\u00e8s maintenant ici \u27a1 https:\/\/t.co\/6Jb2BRKbIo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/eCfsGaSUYS<\/a><\/p>\n

— FC Girondins de Bordeaux (@girondins) August 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n