Arsenal were so bad they made history

Posted Thursday, March 10, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

ARSENAL have become the first Champions League side to have NO shots at goal during a game.

That damning fact has emerged for Arsene Wenger's side following their 3-1 defeat at Barcelona on Tuesday.

Stats gurus Opta have kept detailed records for eight years and the Gunners have recorded a miserable new low.

An Opta spokesman said: "There have been 981 Champions League games since 2003-04 and Arsenal are the first of 1,962 sides not to manage a shot of any form in a match since then."

It is an amazing statistic which confirms Arsenal's lack of ambition - before and after having Robin van Persie sent off for time-wasting in the second half.

Wenger tried to blame Swiss ref Massimo Busacca for the defeat after Van Persie's controversial 55th-minute red card.

But Barca's ex-Liverpool star Javier Mascherano told Wenger to stop being 'stupid' - and to give Barca the praise they deserve for their display.

Mascherano said: "It was very strange to me that it was 1-1 at one stage even though they didn't have a shot.

"Wenger knows how the game went but defeat is tough and nobody wants to be out of the competition.

"Our team has not achieved as much as it has thanks to the refs, we can't be hypocrites or stupid. Barca win because they play well not because of the refs.

"Wenger has every right to his opinion but the stats say that it would have been very unfair if we hadn't qualified."

Arsenal's only effort on target came from a Barca player Sergio Busquets, whose own goal just after half-time gave the visitors hope.