Arsenal's Top 5 games in the Champions League

1. Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona (2011 – Round of 16)

One of the most awaited football matches that year – the beautiful football derby! And no other game comes close to giving the fans their money’s worth. It was always going to be a midfield battle as the two teams that thrived on possession came face to face at the Emirates. Barcelona had Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, with Villa and Messi in front of them. Arsenal had Fabregas, Wilshere and Song with Nasri, Walcott and van Persie up front.

Arsenal didn’t have a good start as David Villa scored in the 26^th minute. Barcelona looked like they were likely to take the lead into the second leg as the resolute Arsenal defence didn’t give Messi much of a chance on goal. And with 12 minutes to go, Clichy lobbed a ball over the Barcelona defence for Robin van Persie to score from the tightest of angles and tie the game at 1-1.

Arsenal finished things off with a beautifully constructed goal that started with a few one touch passes in the Arsenal half. Wilshere absorbed the pressure and immediately changed the direction of attack to Fabregas who released Nasri on the right. Suddenly, Barcelona were caught out. As players in red and white rushed to assist him, Nasri saw one body running towards the centre from the left and put it into his path.

The rest is history as Arshavin took a shot at the first opportunity that curled around defender Abidal and past a stranded Valdes, causing the Emirates to erupt as the Russian wheeled away in celebration!