Arsenal Vs. Barcelona 2011: Jack Wilshere Stands Out In Star-Studded Midfield Battle

Arsenal Cesc Fabregas has long been linked with a move back to boyhood club Barcelona, where his brand of intelligent, incisive football would fit in perfectly on a team with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets. However, despite his desire to transfer to the Catalan, it's unclear whether he'd actually get to play for them if he did leave Arsenal - Barcelona's midfielders are blowing him away right now, and his passing has been uncharacteristically sloppy.

Alex Song isn't faring much better, having picked up an early booking and generally vexing referee Nicola Rizzoliwith a series of niggly, annoying fouls. Although the yellow card will concern manager Arsene Wenger, what's slightly more worrisome from the Arsenal perspective is the Cameroonian international's total inability to adequately track the runs of his opponents - he's making fouls because he's out of position and overcompensating, and that's a bad, bad sign.

So, who on this Arsenal team is playing well? Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott, as expected, are doing well out on the wings, but the star of the show so far has been young Jack Wilshere, who looks far more capable than his captain of actually breaking into the Barca first team. He's made a mistake or two, but has been instrumental in winning the ball in key areas and quickly launching counterattacks. Wilshere's actually doing an almost perfect Bastian Schweinsteiger imitation at present. It's been very, very impressive play from the 19 year-old, and he's the main reason Arsenal have posed any threat at all to their rather imposing guests.