Arsenal:
                   Lehmann
           Eboue Toure Campbell Cole
Hleb (Reyes 84) Gilberto Cesc (Flamini 74) Ljungberg 
             Pires (Almunia 19)
                   Henry

It's an amazing stadium but I have to say that we had a nightmare getting into it. As we walked around the ground no-one else seemed to be having the kind of trouble that ensued at our gate (gate K). We got there with plenty of time to go (45 minutes or so), and there was a horrendous crush outside the turnstiles, only 2 out of 4 of which were open, and even those didn't seem to be letting anyone through till about 15 minutes before kick-off. There was no indication of what was taking so long, and a few times the mounted police threatened to come into the crowd. We got in just in time but it looked like a good few behind us will have been late because of the chaos.

The game itself started so promisingly. After 2 minutes a neat ball into the box from Emmanuel Eboue found Thierry Henry whose first touch near the spot made him space, but Valdez the keeper came out well to make a point blank save. The corner came out to Henry again whose long-range effort forced another good save at the near post.

On 8 minutes Ashley Cole did well to win the ball but then lost it to Giuly as he tried to break up the left. The Frenchman brought it forward and hit a shot to the near post which Jens Lehmann got right behind, palming it high into the air, the ball dropping straight back down into his hands. We were passing well, defending well, and breaking quickly. Ronaldinho had had some bad touches and been hustled off the ball easily a few times.

On 12, a clumsy foul by Kolo Toure on Edmilson gave Ronaldinho a free kick 25 yrds out which he swung over the wall and wide. Barca were coming into the game more and more, but the way we'd started was encouraging as regards our chance of hitting them well on the break, as well as being able to create chances with more measured approach play.

Valdez did well to catch a free kick at the second attempt with Sol Campbell making a nuisance of himself as it dropped.

On 15 a terrific raking ball forward by Gilberto, left in loads of space after being fed from defence by Sol, found Henry on the edge of the box to the right. He held it up and tried to pass to the left for the run of Robert Pires (playing a central supporting role, with Freddie Ljungberg on the left and Alexander Hleb on the right) but van Bommel had tracked his run well and intercepted.

Lehmann made a comfortable save from Edmilson's long-range shot, after Gilberto had given the ball away.

Then on 17 minutes came the moment that changed the game. Gilberto's ball to Hleb in midfield was far too high and too firm. Hleb had to try to take it on his chest but couldn't take the pace off the ball and lost it as 2 Barca players converged on him. The ball came to Ronaldinho whos slotted it through the defence for Eto'o, coming in from his (unusual) position on the left wing. Lehmann came out to meet him, Eto'o pushed it past him and then went down just outside the box as the keeper caught his foot with a hand. Eto'o's pass came to Giuly who passed it into the empty net, but the ref had already blown up for the foul. He was always going to send Lehmann off, even if the Barca players hadn't surrounded him brandishing imaginary cards. The ref admitted later that he probably should have just let the goal stand. As it was, Lehmann wrote himself into the record books as the first player to be sent off in 50 years of European Cup finals.

On came Manuel Almunia, with poor Bobby Pires having to be sacrificed in what could be (but we hope more than ever won't be) his last game for the club. Ronaldinho took the free kick and again swung it wide of the keeper's right hand post, with Cole making a dive on the goal-line to cover that post.

Freddie went on a good run down the left touchline but ran into a defender on the edge of the box when he tried to bring the ball infield. Marquez, the Mexico captain, had a ridiculous super-long-range effort which flew way over the bar.

Ronaldinho slipped the ball into the box on the left for Giuly to run onto, and Cole followed to make a breathtaking sliding tackle just inside the box.

Arsenal defended well, but with 10 men and with Henry isolated up front and Cesc Fabregas and the full-backs pinned back, it was hard to do anything going forward.

Almunia raced out of his box to make a good and crucial clearance, then Toure made a great tackle when Guily was put through again, down the middle. Again Giuly made a great run and Ronaldinho tried to find him, but Campbell shepherded him across enabling Almunia to come out and gather.

Then on 36 minutes Eboue and Toure combined well in midfield, Toure slipping the ball through. Eboue beat his first man then slipped (maybe dived) as Puyol came over to challenge. Henry took the free kick, 15 yards out to the right of the box, chipped it into the box for Campbell who rose unchallenged to head it inside the far post - his first goal in Europe!

The rest of the game was an agony of clock-watching.

We continued to defend well but stopped trying to go forward so much, understandably.

In injury time Ronaldinho seemed to be being covered well by Gilberto but then found a superb pass to Eto'o just inside the box. He turned brilliantly, beating Campbell to make space for a shot. But Almunia came towards him and made a fantastic save, just getting enough of a hand on it to turn the ball onto the post. Then we had a quarter-chance when Henry broke forward, he had to hold the ball up, exchanged passes with Cesc when he finally arrived in support, then hit a very speculative shot well over the bar from a long way out.

At half time the rain started to come down heavily, and the second half started with a heavy foul on Henry which like so many went, bizarrely, without punishment beyond the free kick.

Deco was closed down too slowly in the D and hit a low shot which was nice and close to Almunia. Van Bommel kicked Cesc's foot and fell over looking for a foul but fortunately the linesman spotted what had happened.

Almunia started using the ball badly, with big punts upfield to no-one. Then Hleb broke superbly, laid the ball off, and got fouled off the ball. Henry made a great harrying run, ending with a one-footed sliding tackle that won him the ball, and a booking.

On 52 Iniesta went on a penetrating run, past a couple of defenders then hitting a shot from the edge of the box which got a slight deflection off of Campbell but Almunia got down well to make the save.

Van Bommel again got away with a clear foul off the ball, and Barca broke through Ronaldinho, skipping past a couple of challenges before being fouled by Eboue just outside the D. Ronaldinho hit the free kick into the wall and when it came back to him, sliced a second shot out for a corner, with a deflection off of Eto'o. Almunia's ball, but again he hoofed it upfield turning it back to Barca.

On 56 Ronaldinho got past Eboue to the goal-line and tried to chip the ball past Almunia but the keeper got a hand to it and we scrambled it clear. Already half an eye was on the pitch and half on the stadium clock. Almunia came out to make a superb catch.

Finally a long kick from Almunia won us a throw thanks to a bad touch from Marquez. Henry nearly got the ball in the box from Cole, but his presence won a corner as 2 defenders got in each others way. The corner nearly found Toure but was cleared before reaching his head, and Barca broke dangerously only to be stopped by a great tackle from Gilberto.

On the hour, Henrik Larsson came on for van Bommel. Eto'o went back to the left wing where Ronaldinho had started the second half, and fed Ronaldinho in the box only for a terrible first touch to send the ball out for a goal kick.

Toure did brilliantly to cut out a Giuly cross. Cesc broke down the left, passed infield to Henry, and Hleb came up on the right. When Henry passed to him, he took the ball inside a bit and hit a shot from outside the box but got little power into it and it skidded out a yard wide of the right post.

On 64 Freddie broke down the middle and fed Henry on the left wing. He skipped past a defender and down the touchline, then cut inside and into the box, but pushed the ball just too far towards the keeper at the end.

Then Freddie robbed Oleguer and got into the left side of the box but Valdez made a good high save, tipping the shot out for a corner.

Cesc made a great tackle on Ronaldinho and Freddie broke only to be brought down by Oliguer who, finally, prompted a Barca yellow card from the ref.

From the free kick, Hleb fed Henry who took the ball into the box on the right but hit his low shot straight at the keeper - a tired-looking side-footed effort. Straight up the other end, Ronaldinho shot just wide.

We were lookign more and more tired but Freddie's running was getting more and more extraordinary. On 70 he accelerated past his man, slipped over, retrieved the ball anyway and fed Cesc who had a weak shot from distance.

Belleti's miscued cross found Larsson near the edge of the box and he laid it back to Deco but Cesc made a great tackle. Ronaldinho skipped into the box on the right but Cole kept harrying him and he could only find the side netting.

As the clock approached 75 minutes, I and (from what they said afterwards) most Arsenal fans were just starting to believe that we might hang on. Barca were looking a bit frantic and we were starting to push them back a bit more. We won a corner and Mathieu Flamini came on for Cesc. The ball was cleared to Flamini whose first touch was poor and handed it back to Barca.

Marquez shoved Henry in the air with no attempt to get to the ball, nothing given as the ball feel for Eboue who was hacked down as he tried to break.

Then on 76, a long low ball forward from their left was touched on nicely by Larsson on the edge of the box for Eto'o's run in from the wing, he took one touch on then slipped the ball past Almunia at his near post. A very calm finish but from a very close to offside position.

It had been 16 and a half hours since Arsenal had conceded a goal in the Champions League.

Ronaldinho scuffed a shot through to Almunia from the D.

Yet another great challenge on the edge of the box cleared the ball but it came to Belleti on their right. He fed Larsson towards the goal-line who eluded Campbell and slipped the ball between Sol and Cole and square into the box finding Belleti's run. From a narrow angle his low shot, possibly heading beyond the far post, went in off Almunia's left leg. A horribly unlucky goal to concede, even if Larsson's touch had again been superb.

Arsenal were knackered, finally needing to attack but now unable to find the legs. Barca played keep-ball in their own half and kept us running after shadows. Ronaldinho went on a worrying run past Cole, but Campbell did wellto hold him up and allow Cole back to made the crucial tackle. But Toure fouled as we tried to clear our lines when the ball came out. Reyes came on for Hleb. Barca fans lit their flares but Arsenal fabns were singing loudest.

In injury time Almunia made a decent save and was then impeded by Larsson as he ran forward with the ball, then threw it to Cole who had plenty of space to take the ball forward, only for the ref to call play back in order to book Larsson. And that was the final action.

A disappointing result but a fantastic team performance, one to be very proud of. Barcelona will know they were lucky to win it.

The rain stopped in time for us to get back to the station.