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BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Arsenal has poached another player from Barcelona’s lauded youth academy.

Barcelona confirms that 16-year-old Jon Toral is set to follow in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas and join the Gunners from next season.

Spanish reports said the north London club paid ?350,000 ($480,500) for Toral, who was free to sign with any professional team.

Toral came through the Spanish champion’s La Masia ranks like new teammate Fabregas and fellow prospect Fran Merida, who were both signed by Arsenal as teenagers. World Cup champion Fabregas is captain at Arsenal and Merida is now with Atletico Madrid.

The lanky Toral, who is listed as a midfielder in Barcelona’s youth team, reportedly has roots in Britain, where his mother is from.

Labels: Academy, Arsenal, Barcelona, prospect, signs

The Eastlands outfit have spent lavishly to bring in top talent, paying enormous sums to land the services of their targets.

And the former Barca midfielder believes that with such spending, City are bound to overtake the Catalan club in due course.

"You cannot compare Barcelona with City right now because Barca are at the top and have top-quality players," Toure told The Sun.

"They have Leo Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves, who are fantastic. But we are still signing new players.

"In a couple of years we could be better than Barcelona. What we need to do is continue to work hard and improve with every game.

"I keep saying to my brother Kolo and my family that City have great players but we need to continue to work hard to become great."

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Labels: Barcelona, better, could, Goalcom, Manchester, Toure, years

Jornada 24 in the Primera Division was a weekend that witnessed defences come out on top, with just seventeen goals netted in the ten league fixtures.

There simply had to be a place in our La Liga Team of the Week, however, for a goalkeeper who opted to show the shot-shy strikers how it's done. Daniel Aranzubia's 94th minute leveller for his team was a finish worthy of any forward, and represented one of the most novel moments of the round.

Barcelona, driven by maestro Xavi, eventually edged past a stubborn Athletic Bilbao side who had threatened to cause an upset, and ensured their five-point advantage at the top of the table following Real Madrid's straightforward 2-0 win over Levante.

Goal.com has selected the best eleven of the week below in a 4-4-2 formation. Disagree? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Formation: 4-4-2

Goalkeeper - Daniel Aranzubia (Deportivo)

TOTW Apps: 2

It is always worth celebrating when a 'keeper gets his name on the scoresheet, and the Galician shot-stopper produced an incredible end to the match against Almeria, leaping highest to head home a 94th minute equaliser.

The veteran full-back was part of the staunch Verdiblancos back line that managed to keep Getafe at bay, but also kept his nerve in the dying moments to slot home the winning goal from the penalty spot, and ensure that coach Marcelino could enjoy two wins from two upon his return to Cantabria.

Player Rating: 7.5 (vs Levante)
TOTW Apps: 3

The Portuguese prefers the company of Pepe alongside him in the centre of the Blancos back line, but he strolled through the ninety minutes against the Granotes in his absence. He also chipped in with a goal on the stroke of half-time that clinched the three points, and put pressure on leaders Barcelona.

It's been quite a week for the former Barcelona defender; he turned in a superb performance to snatch a point from his former club last weekend, and against Valencia on Saturday he comfortably dealt with everything the home side could throw at him, on the way to a composed clean sheet.

The Colombian can be guilty of inconsistent form and a lack of concentration at times, but he proved to be a steady influence as Atleti held out for a valuable three points. He was a towering figure in the centre of the back four, and to squeeze him into our team, we find a spot for him at left-back.

Player Rating: 8 (vs Levante)
TOTW Apps: 4

The Santiago Bernabeu faithful has taken to the tricky Argentine in his debut season in Spain, and the mazy run that helped put the ball on a plate for Karim Benzema typified the skill and technique that has made the 23-year-old one of Los Blancos' players of the season.

Player Rating: 8.5 (vs Athletic Bilbao)
TOTW Apps: 5

The Blaugrana suffered from a tumultuous week, and despite the resilience shown by Athletic Bilbao, Xavi ensured that a five-point gap was maintained at the top of the table. His two glorious passes in the build-up to each goal helped unlock a disciplined Leones defence.

The former Schalke midfielder has wasted no time in settling into his new role with Los Nervionenses, and won the match with a neat finish against Hercules at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. His runs from deep are providing coach Gregorio Manzano a new dimension, and he typified his impact by combining with Luis Fabiano to good effect.

The Iranian was missed by Los Rojillos during his recent spell at the Asian Cup, and he showcased his importance to the team in yesterday's thumping defeat of Espanyol. The 30-year-old scored two first half goals, handing coach Jose Luis Mendilibar a perfect start to his reign in Pamplona.

These days, it seems that whenever the diminutive Argentine performs, he manages to drag Atleti from mediocrity, and he netted his first goal in two months to see off the challenge of Zaragoza, as well as providing an inspirational all-round display that offered respite to coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

Player Rating: 7.5 (vs Athletic Bilbao)
TOTW Apps: 13

Most definitely a game of two halves for the Argentine, who seemed unable to control the ball in the first, but was mesmerising in the second as he caused the Basque side no end of problems, before netting what could prove to be a vital winning goal.

Labels: Athletic, Barcelona, Bilbao, Goalcom, Lionel, Messi, Overcome, Round

On a rain-hit day in Barcelona, the German was able to gain experience of Pirelli’s intermediate tyres in the morning, before switching to slicks as the team worked through a number of set-up comparisons.

His quickest time of 1:23.168 came during a series of qualifying simulations late in the afternoon, which included use of KERS and the adjustable rear wing.

Vitaly Petrov was second for Renault, with his quickest time just three tenths slower than Rosberg. The Russian was able to complete over 90 laps running through a set-up programme, and changes to front and rear suspension, before making tyre comparisons.

Lewis Hamilton was almost seven tenths slower than Rosberg with a 1:23.858 as McLaren looked to overcome recent reliability issues, but the 2008 world champion had to abandon several runs in the morning.

With the problems fixed, Hamilton was able to set quick times towards the end of the morning session, before going third in the dry conditions in the afternoon during qualifying simulations. He eventually completed 93 laps as McLaren slowed the pace and worked on aero-mapping.

Pastor Maldonado endured a frustrating day, spinning his car in the early wet conditions, while an alternator problem on the FW33 later in the morning also limited running.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber went further than any other driver with 139 laps in the RB7. His quickest time, a 1:24.995, came on the first lap following a tyre change, while in the middle of a race simulation.

Jarno Trulli was hampered by a lack of spare parts for the T128 as Team Lotus experienced further problems with a water leak from a cracked pipe.

The team were however able to give the Italian a decent run in dry conditions in the afternoon with his quickest time of 1:25.454 coming on lap 45 of 48. Trulli also got his first experience of Pirelli’s wet and intermediate tyres in the morning.

Sergio Pérez completed 115 laps for Sauber, like most teams exploring options with the wet and intermediate tyres, before running a race simulation in the afternoon on the hard and medium compounds to lap within a tenth of Trulli before a rear wing problem ended his day.

Adrian Sutil covered over 100 laps as he continued work on set-up programmes and the adjustable rear wing on the VJM04, setting a quickest lap of 1:25.720 as Force India improved the car’s balance.

Toro Rosso opted to split their day with reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo taking the morning session—his last opportunity before the first race practice session of the season—before Sébastien Buemi took over in the afternoon.

The Swiss driver completed just 32 laps with limited runs on two sets of slicks, leaving him with more options for the final day of testing on Monday as he finished four tenths slower than Sutil.

Felipe Massa had an eventful day in the Ferrari F150th Italia, twice causing a red flag in the morning when running on intermediate tyres, while his afternoon consisted of a full race simulation with a view to making the tyres last as long as possible without ever really looking to set a quick time, leaving him tenth quickest with a time of 1:26.508.

Timo Glock added mileage to the MVR-02 for Virgin Racing on his way to 11th quickest with a time of 1:26.598 as he also experienced the full range of Pirelli compounds, first in the morning with wet and inters, and then slicks in the afternoon.

Giorgio Mondini enjoyed his first run-out for Hispania as another driver under evaluation by the Spanish team, after Tonio Liuzzi had a similar test on Saturday.

The Swiss driver, who was Midland’s third driver for part of the 2006 season, was a credible 12th quickest, 2.5s ahead of Hispania’s only confirmed driver for 2011, and only 1.6s slower than Glock.

Daniel Ricciardo’s quickest time was 1:28.329 on slicks on the drying track towards the end of the morning, only finishing some five seconds off Rosberg’s quickest time set in the afternoon.

His lowly position is a result of no running in dry conditions, but the decision to make an early switch of tyres will help Toro Rosso with vital data on the crossover period between compounds.

Like Ricciardo, Narain Karthikeyan also drove in the morning session, and could manage a time of just 1:30.722 as he completed 32 laps as the times tumbled in the afternoon’s dry running.

Labels: Barcelona, quickest, Review, Rosberg, Sport, Three

A late Lionel Messi goal was enough to see La Liga leaders Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 and return to winning ways despite a spirited performance from the Basque club.

The home team opened the scoring on four minutes through David Villa yet an Andoni Iraola penalty on 50 minutes saw Bilbao draw level. However Lionel Messi scored what was to be the winning goal on 78 minutes.

The result sees the Catalan giants regain their five point lead over rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The home side started brightly as they have done so often this season and found themselves a goal up after four minutes. A wonderful chipped Xavi pass found Dani Alves in space on the right side of the Athletic box. The Brazilian wing-back played a neat cut-back to David Villa who made no mistake in directing the ball ball past a helpless Gorka Iraizoz from 12-yards out.

Athletic responded well to going a goal down and came close to an equaliser on 11 minutes. Star striker Fernando Llorente drifted out to the left before clipping a precise cross to Markel Susaeta whose header could only hit the side-netting.

The away team continued to repel Barcelona's constant attacks and came even closer to equalising on 37 minutes. Igor Gabilondo did brilliant to find space on the left wing before curling an inviting ball into the box. The towering Llorente powered a firm header goalwards but Jose Pinto was on hand to make a stunning low save. The former Celta Vigo 'keeper could play a pivotal role in the Catalan club's fortunes this season with the news that Victor Valdes could miss the next six weeks.

Los Leones started the second half with plenty of ambition and were level on 50 minutes after the home side gifted their opponents a soft penalty. Eric Abidal played a tame pass to Sergio Busquets in the Barcelona box but Llorente did well to get a foot to the ball with Busquets clumsily bringing down his international team-mate. With Llorente on the sidelines receiving treatment, Andoni Iraola was handed the task of converted the spot-kick which he did with ease, sending Pinto the wrong way.

The La Liga champions responded fairly well and could have re-taken the lead on 69 minutes. Xavi played a decent through ball to Villa who had the beating of Fernando Amorebieta before seeing his snapshot expertly tipped around the post by Iraizoz.

Despite not being at their best, Barcelona scored their second on 78 minutes. Xavi's wonderful pass found Alves once again on the right. The former Sevilla man drilled a low cross into the feet of Lionel Messi who smashed the ball into the roof of the net from six-yards out for the goal that gave Pep Guardiola's men all three points.

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Labels: Athletic, Barcelona, Bilbao, Goalcom, Messi, rescue

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi struck a late winner to earn Barcelona a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and keep the Spanish champions five points clear at the top of La Liga.

In Italy, Claudio Ranieri resigned as AS Roma coach after they squandered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa.

SPAIN

Lionel Messi rescued a nervy Barcelona with a late goal to earn a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in a thrilling La Liga match on Sunday. The World Player of the Year dinked in the winner in the 77th minute as Barca desperately poured forward after Andoni Iraola had cancelled out David Villa’s early opener with a 49th-minute penalty.

Barca moved on to 65 points from 24 matches, keeping Real Madrid five points back in second after Jose Mourinho’s outfit eased to a 2-0 victory over Levante on Saturday.

Fourth-placed Villarreal’s faltering form continued when they were held 1-1 at home by basement side Malaga and new Osasuna coach Jose Luis Mendilibar led his team to a stunning 4-0 win over sixth-placed Espanyol.

- - - -

ITALY

Claudio Ranieri quit as coach of AS Roma after they surrendered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa while fellow underachievers Juventus were beaten 2-0 at lowly Lecce after having Gianluigi Buffon sent off early.

Leaders AC Milan needed a controversial Robinho goal where he used his arm and a late strike from substitute Alexandre Pato to see off Chievo 2-1 but second-placed Napoli kept pace with a 1-0 win over Catania.

Inter Milan in third also had some luck with Andrea Ranocchia’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Cagliari counting despite the Italy defender looking offside.

- - - -

ENGLAND

Leyton Orient grabbed the limelight in the FA Cup when they grabbed a dramatic last-minute equaliser to force a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in their fifth round tie on Sunday.

The League One side stole the thunder from Everton who ended Chelsea’s dreams of a third successive FA Cup final victory with a 4-3 penalty shootout win at Stamford Bridge after their fourth round replay ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Minor-league Crawley Town also hit the headlines after making Premier League leaders Manchester United, who have won the FA cup a record 11 times, battle for a slender 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

Manchester City kept alive their chances of a first major trophy since 1976 when they thumped League One Notts County 5-0 in a fourth round replay at Eastlands.

- - - -

FRANCE

Leaders Lille went down 1-0 at Montpellier, allowing Stade Rennes to cut the gap at the top to two points with a late penalty in a 2-1 victory at Toulouse.

Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyon and Paris St Germain also all won to set up a thrilling finale to Ligue 1 with five clubs within four points of each other with 14 games left.

Girondins Bordeaux and Monaco lost again as their poor seasons contrast markedly with France’s other big names.

- - - -

SCOTLAND

Celtic took a big step towards the Scottish Premier League title by beating their Old Firm rivals Rangers 3-0 at Parkhead on Sunday to move eight points clear at the top of the table, although Rangers have two matches in hand.

Gary Hooper scored twice in the opening 28 minutes to put Celtic in command before Kris Commons made it 3-0 20 minutes from time as the big two played out the fourth of their seven planned meetings this season, including cup games.

Third-placed Hearts moved to within two points of Rangers when they beat Dundee United 2-1 on Saturday but have also played two more matches than Walter Smith’s team.

- - - -

NETHERLANDS

PSV Eindhoven brushed aside 10-man NAC Breda 4-1 to go two points clear at the top of the Dutch league as rivals Twente Enschede were held 1-1 by NEC Nijmegen.

Twente had Emir Bajrami to thank for a point after he cancelled out an early opening goal from Nijmegen’s Niki Zimling.

(Editing by Dave Thompson; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: Barcelona, clear, keeps, quits, Ranieri, Reuters, RoundupMessi

UEFA Champions League
Venue: Emirates Stadium Date: Wednesday, 16 February Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live and Live on ITV 1

Arsenal lost to Barca in the quarter-finals last season but the Gunners boss says his side are now better equipped.

"We are highly motivated to show we are a different team today," said Wenger ahead of Wednesday's first leg.

"Barcelona are the best team in the world. If you knock them out you have a good chance to win the competition."

Arsenal are still awaiting a first victory over the Catalan giants having lost three and drawn two of their five previous encounters.

Wenger's men held Barca at the Nou Camp in the 1999-00 group stage before losing 4-2 in the return at Wembley (Arsenal played their Champions League home games at Wembley for the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons).

The Spaniards came from behind to win 2-1 in the 2006 Champions League final and the pair faced off again in 2010.

Pep Guardiola's team produced a devastating first-half display at the Emirates Stadium but Arsenal held firm and, despite falling 2-0 behind early in the second, they fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.

The Gunners, missing several key players, took a surprise lead in the second leg but Barca's class soon told and Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as they ran out 4-1 winners (6-3 on aggregate).

"Last year they were the better team but I believe in my players, they have the quality 100% to do it," stated Wenger.

"In the first half of the home game we were spectators and a little bit inhibited. Now I believe we are a completely different team.

"Losing to Barcelona made us better because we came out of the second game with a lot of frustrations after missing the turning point when we were 1-0 up.

"But more than looking at the past we want to show how good we are. We want to win this competition, we know we face the super-favourites but the only way to do it is to knock them out.

"The players don't deny the quality of Barcelona. What is important is to say 'look who we are now, we are capable of knocking you out now'. That is our target."

Barcelona top La Liga and have been in superb form this season, although they did suffer a blip at the weekend when they needed a sublime late David Villa goal to snatch a 1-1 draw against Sporting Gijon.

That draw ended Barca's 16-match winning run in the Spanish league and Wenger believed the Londoners could take positives from Barca's weekend stutter, saying: "It is always difficult after internationals but when you end a series [of wins] it always takes something out of you of course."

Arsenal are fresh from a commanding 2-0 victory over Wolves last weekend that kept them second in the Premier League, while they also remain in contention for the FA Cup and will contest the Carling Cup final against Birmingham on 27 February.

By the time they played Barca last season, the Londoners had already missed out on both domestic cups and were struggling to keep pace with the Premier League's top two.

After losing the second leg in Spain, Arsenal suffered three defeats and a draw in their remaining five games of the season to ensure their trophy drought would run into a sixth year.

"We are now a stronger team because we have attitude and I have not seen many teams with such consistent focus every day," added Wenger.

"We have made our own way by challenging for the title when nobody predicted we would. I believe we are a stronger team because we have attitude and focus.

"We are in ideal condition to face Barcelona. We have the belief and confidence and the players available are close to 100%. That was not the case last year.

"We want to show how good we are. We want to show the belief we have in our game and in our quality.

"Everyone expects an exciting game because it is two teams that play quality football. We want to be faithful to our philosophy and pass the ball well so we can dominate the game."

Labels: Arsenal, Barcelona, challenge, Sport, urges, Wenger

In truth, there's only one way Barca can defeat Arsenal, and that's because there's only one way Barca play: possession, attacking football. Pep Guardiola does not change his approach, playing system, formation, or tactics for any opponent. What he does change, though, is his specific instructions to his superstars during the game. More of a conductor than a coach, Guardiola will bark orders to his players from the touchline to accommodate Arsenal's minute-by-minute strategy, and it is imperative that the players follow instructions.

2. Do not get complacent

Barca could've embarrassingly routed Arsenal at the Emirates last season. But having taken a two-goal lead, the Catalans took their foot off the gas and grow complacent, allowing speed demon Theo Walcott to spark a comeback and salvage the first leg clash in a 2-2 draw. First, a sloppy pass by Sergio Busquets, then some slack defending which prompted Carles Puyol to clatter into Cesc Fabregas inside the box, gave the Gunners a free get-out-of-jail card, albeit only temporarily in the end.

So far this season, Barca have shown no signs of easing off during a game when they are in front, spanking opponents left, right and centre with goals galore. But Saturday's surprise 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon demonstrated that a lackadaisical approach can be costly for Guardiola's side.

3. Be direct 

Barca had difficulty breaking down Arsenal in the first half in London, despite utterly dominating the contest. It was in fact two direct, over-the-top through balls which released Zlatan Ibrahimovic on his way to scoring both goals in the first leg. Without Ibra, Barca lose a secret weapon, but that doesn't mean that the likes of Lionel Messi, Pedro and David Villa won't be able to finish off route one chances. If Arsenal do attempt to take the game to the Catalans by fighting fire with fire and playing eye-candy attacking football, Barca can hit the Gunners hard on the break, but they must be quick, direct and precise.


Heads up, Gerard! | Barca should look to the air to create chances
4. Keep the ball away from Robin van Persie

With in-form Samir Nasri doubtful for the clash due to injury, Arsene Wenger will rely heavily on Fabregas to provide the attacking arsenal. The captain didn't have the best of games in last season's first leg clash, although he was undoubtedly the hero of the night for the home fans when he scored from the spot - with a broken leg - to level the tie and keep his side in the fight.

He will be eager to impress against a team who have been trying to lure him away from the Emirates, but it's the red-hot Van Persie that Barca should be worried about. The Dutchman has scored nine goals in his last five Premier League games and with defensive stalwart Carles Puyol struggling to recover in time after injury, Barcelona's backline could be easily exposed.

5. Beware of Arsenal's speed & physicality

Arsenal will be deprived of the ball, of that there is no doubt even before the two teams head for the tactical drawing board. But while Barca are sometimes too reluctant to play route one football, Wenger's men have no problems adopting that approach, as evidenced by the fact that they scored two of their three goals against the Catalans over two legs last season through speedy counter-attacks.

Arsenal are not the most physical side in the Premier League, but almost any team in football today is more physical than Barcelona. The Gunners can get rough and mix it up with the "big boys" if they want to, and if Wenger decides to throw a curveball and deviate from his usual one-touch football and get physical, it could be the ace card that could stun the Blaugrana.

Labels: Arsenal, Barcelona, Goalcom

LONDON (AP)—Arsenal plans to remain faithful to its attacking philosophy against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday despite having been comprehensively outplayed by the Catalan club in the competition last year.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his team won’t sit back and merely defend at Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the last-16 match.

“If we manage to get them under pressure, we will create chances,” Wenger said.

But he acknowledged he may have to change tactics for the return leg at the Camp Nou, where Lionel Messi scored all four goals as Barcelona crushed Arsenal 4-1 in the second leg of their quarterfinal last year to win 6-3 on aggregate.

Arsenal hopes to exploit the defensive weaknesses evident in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.

But stopping Messi, who has shown no signs of being tamed, may be more difficult to accomplish. Messi has scored 40 goals in all competitions this season, including 24 in the Spanish league.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby urged his teammates not to be obsessed with Messi, who has won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards under coach Pep Guardiola.

“We need to be focused on the way we defend and not be focused on one man,” Diaby said. “We know that individually he is really good, but if we do the job together I think it will be difficult for him. For me, that is the best way to control him and control the game.”

Diaby played in both legs against Barcelona last year and can vouch for the visitors’ depth of talent and skill.

“When you focus on one man it is never a good idea, because they have also got (Andres) Iniesta, Xavi (Hernandez), (David) Villa—so many players,” he said. “The most important thing is to be well organized defensively and, when we have got the ball, play our game.”

The last time Barcelona played at Emirates Stadium, the team produced a sensational attacking display in the first half that was foiled by save after save from Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. The game ended 2-2.

Arsenal look to have a more settled team this time, with main striker Robin van Persie expected to start after having missed last year’s matches because of injury.

Arsenal’s midfield has also been tougher defensively this season and the emergence of Jack Wilshere as a gritty complement to captain Cesc Fabregas has been a boost.

Barcelona winger Pedro Rodriguez said his team isn’t taking anything for granted.

“They’re a great team and very difficult opposition with very good players, especially up front,” Rodriguez said, adding that the form of Fabregas and Van Persie will make it “a very difficult tie, different from last year as maybe they are more dangerous.”

The Gunners beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 last Saturday, putting an embarrassing result against Newcastle behind them from the previous weekend. The team surrendered a 4-0 lead to draw 4-4.

Arsenal also hopes to be lifted by the return of Samir Nasri, who has been sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring injury. Barcelona, meanwhile, confirmed that center back Carles Puyol would not make the flight because of a knee injury.

Labels: Arsenal, attack, Barcelona