Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is looking to draw inspiration from his side’s historic 2-1 win over Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the Champions League in 2011 ahead of the crunch tie against the Catalan side.
The Gunners recorded an emphatic 2-1 victory over the eventual Champions League winners at the Emirates Stadium five years ago on the same date.
The Blaugrana took a first half lead through David Villa in the 26th minute, before Wenger’s side mounted a late comeback to secure the win.
The Gunners scored twice in the space of five minutes to keep their faint hopes of progression against Pep Guardiola’s side alive.
Robin van Persie equalised for the hosts in the 78th minute, before Andrey Arshavin completed the comeback in the 83rd minute.
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However, Guardiola’s side recorded a 3-1 win in the return leg and progressed to eventually lift the trophy.
Wenger recollects his side suffering in the first-half against Barcelona and feels that the team can draw inspiration from it in uncomfortable moments and believe that they can still win it.
The Frenchman also explained that the win reminded him of how a team can deliver something exceptional.
Speaking in an interview with Arsenal Player, Wenger said: “The memory [I have] is that the winning goal was scored by Arshavin after we suffered for a big part of the game – we should be encouraged by that.
"We suffered in the first half and in the second half we slowly came back into the game and became very dangerous.
"That should help us in our [upcoming] game against Barcelona. If we have uncomfortable moments then we should have in our minds that we can still win even if it is difficult.
“It was really special [to win in 2011]. What I also remember as well is that it reminded me of how football is really as a team because you can deliver something exceptional."
The Gunners host Barcelona for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash at the Emirates Stadium on 23rd February.
