Anelka presents his case to Ancelotti

The victory in Denmark will have been a huge relief to everyone concerned with Chelsea football club, and in particular Nicolas Anelka. The arrival of Fernando Torres in the January transfer window indicated that his time at Chelsea may have been coming to an end.

This is the longest period he has remained at any club during his career and his 2 goals last night takes his tally in the Champions League to 7 in 6 games this season. He is a wonderfully gifted individual who has remarkable technique and is blessed with blistering pace (although his pace is not what it was). However, like everything in life there is a good and a bad side; he has often been labelled disruptive and played for 9 clubs in 15 years during his professional career.

It is quite remarkable looking at his career; he has played for some of the biggest clubs on the continent and is still only 31 years old. One wonders how much of an influence his family had on him after moving from Arsenal to Real Madrid for £22.3 million in 1999 as he always looked disinterested when playing. The move to Chelsea seemed to revitalise him which was probably down to him realising that this was his last chance at a top club – and he has grasped the opportunity.

It appears that wholesale changes will be made to the Chelsea squad over the summer but it seems that Anelka maybe preferred to Drogba which I would agree with. The prospect of playing against a side that had Anelka, Torres and another in a front 3 would be very scary. The mercurial Frenchman often seems very languid but is then suddenly 5 yards past you before you have noticed. It is a shame his international days are over but it could be a blessing as he can focus on what remains of his club career.

It is vital for Chelsea that they maintain the momentum from last night into the remainder of their domestic season. Whilst they are now unlikely to retain the Premiership they still have to play United twice and could have a real bearing on where the trophy ends up. For players such as Anelka this is the time to prove that you are behind the club and will strive to ensure this season’s slump remains a distant memory.

Arsenal vs Barcelona – a review

What a spectacle we saw on Wednesday night at the Emirates in possibly the best game of the season thus far. The level of football displayed by both sides was something to behold and in all honesty it was simply exceptional. I am not the biggest fan of Arsenal’s but to deny them praise for the way they played against Barcelona would be criminal.

The opening few minutes were breathtaking as the ball travelled from one end of the pitch to the other at tremendous speed and under impeccable control. The way the Catalan’s pass and move around the ball is staggering at points and one wonders how any team can deal with it. However, in this game they ran into a side capable of producing a similar style of football and were not afraid to produce it at the highest level.

It was hard to believe that when Villa ran onto Messi’s through ball to finish calmly that 26 minutes had elapsed before the deadlock was broken. There had been significant chances at either end with Messi and Van Persie guilty of squandering good openings. The game was scintillating and at half time I for one still thought both sides were capable of more.

The second half will forever live long in the memory of Arsenal fans who saw their side continue to compete and begin to get have a stronger influence on proceedings. The away side made changes with half an hour to go which placed less emphasis on attack and the home side took advantage. Firstly Van Persie (who had been very wasteful previously) finished from an acute angle to level the game and then after a fabulous move started by Wilshire equalised through the much maligned Arshavin.

It was a thrilling game to watch and sets the tie up perfectly for the 2^nd leg in the Camp Nou in 2 weeks time. Some of the individual performances were outstanding; Busquets, Koscielny, Messi, Xavi – who had a 93% pass completion rate and the man of the match Wilshire. The young English midfielder surpassed all expectations in this game and really announced himself to the world with an incredible display.

The tie is evenly balanced although Arsenal hold the lead at the half way stage. It will be another extraordinary game in 2 weeks time and it will be fascinating to see how both sides approach it. I still think Barcelona remain favourites but the gap has certainly closed since last season.