Arsenal vs Barcelona: Andres Iniesta urges defenders to make life 'uncomfortable' for Alexis Sanchez

James Benge22 February 2016

Andres Iniesta has urged his Barcelona team-mates to disrupt Alexis Sanchez’s rhythm in the early stages of tomorrow’s match against Arsenal.

The Champions League holders head into tomorrow’s round of 16 tie the overwhelming favourites but are well aware that former Barcelona forward Sanchez is among the Arsenal players who can conjure a moment of excellence that could be crucial for Arsene Wenger’s hopes of progression.

Sanchez has struggled to find his best form since returning from a hamstring injury in late January after nearly two months on the sidelines. In six appearances the 27-year-old has just one goal in an FA Cup tie against Burnley, but Iniesta is not taking the Chilean’s recent dry spell for granted.

“What makes Alexis so dangerous is that he is unpredictable,” the Barcelona captain said. “When he dribbles, when he attacks, he is a very strong player.

“He’s got skill and when he has the ball he always creates doubts. In that sense, we have to try to make him feel uncomfortable on the field and try to minimise his strengths.”

Iniesta featured in the victories over Arsenal in 2006, 2010 and 2011, the latter two seeing Barcelona ease past the Gunners over two legs, leaving Wenger with just one win in seven meetings against his opponents on Tuesday.

Arsenal vs Barcelona - Past encounters in pictures

1/7

Despite the exceptional heights the Spanish side reached in those ties Arsenal have had their chances to upset the odds, most notably in 2011 when Iniesta and company would have been eliminated had Nicklas Bendtner not fluffed a late chance at the Nou Camp.

And the 31-year-old is expecting a tough tie on his third visit to the Emirates.

“Arsenal are known for having a style of play, a way of understanding football through having the ball,” he said. "I also think that the type of players that their coach or that Arsenal look for are very similar.

“I think their strong spots are their quality, their talent and the way they play. The way they attack, the way they combine. I think they’re a very dangerous opponent in that sense.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in