Andrey Arshavin's goal completes the Arsenal recovery against Barcelona

The Arsenal substitute Andrey Arshavin, left, scores their winner
against Barcelona in the Champions League

Arsenal would not tolerate a remake of the past. They had taken just a draw with Barcelona at home last year before being knocked out of the Champions League. Here, they rallied from 1-0 down to win. Robin van Persie tied the score with a drive that beat the goalkeeper Víctor Valdés at his near post 11 minutes from time. Four minutes later, Cesc Fábregas set Samir Nasri moving on the right and the cut-back was drilled home perfectly by the substitute Andrey Arshavin.

There was a conviction to Arsenal that offered yet another illustration of the maturity being attained. The return is perilous, but Barcelona themselves will suspect that this team will not be brushed aside at Camp Nou as they were a season ago.

Meeting Barcelona is a predicament for virtually all teams, but Arsenal's case is unusual. Rather than being the normal contrast of styles, this encounter saw Pep Guardiola's side taking on opponents who would like nothing better than to emulate their methods. The hosts aimed for that same fluent movement, but a flawed version of Barcelona could not be expected to outdo them.

The initial impression was that Arsenal could withstand the comparison. Even when the visitors took the lead through David Villa in the 26th minute it came in a spell where they might just as easily have fallen behind.