DBasia.news – Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger assesses Barcelona’s game when held to a draw by Slavia Prague like a team that is experiencing a crisis. He also considers Barcelona too depending on Lionel Messi’s appearance.
This criticism was raised by Wenger after seeing the Blaugrana performance when held to a 0-0 draw by Slavia Prague at Camp Nou in the Champions League party on Wednesday (6/11) early morning Western Indonesian Time. Last weekend, Barca also smothered Levante 3-1.
Both results did not change Barcelona’s position at the top of the Spanish La Liga standings nor in the Champions League group phase. However, Wenger claimed not impressed with their performance.
“They are top of the league in La Liga and the Champions League group, but they play like a team in crisis,” the legendary Arsenal manager told beIN Sports.
“This game (Barcelona against Slavs) goes too slowly. There is no dynamism of movement within 30 meters. They play by relying on individuals. Every time they lose the ball, they will concede because they cannot match the speed of the opponent’s counterattack.”
“This team loses dynamism, energy, and self-confidence. They are just like playing, then waiting for Messi to do a magical moment. They should build based on the game first, build a fantastic partnership that makes the ball difficult to win the opponent. After that, then Messi comes to finish it.”
Coach Ernesto Valverde is currently under pressure because he has been blamed for the poor performance of Barcelona lately. However, Wenger was reluctant to blame Valverde.
“The coach is always blamed, but not necessarily he is responsible for all this. This raises several statements, such as who makes the final decision about the transfer, is the player bought needed by the team?” he added.