Former Arsenal manager George Graham, said in an interview that current arsenal boss Arsene wenger is a great fan of Barcelona and their total football but believes Wenger needs a physical presence.

“Arsene is a great believer in total football and I think he is a great admirer of Barcelona.

“Whether Arsenal can do a Barcelona in English football… there’s a big question mark over that. I think Wenger loves the way Barca play and I think he wants Arsenal to evolve in that way.”

Graham adds: “Arsene was the manager who developed that pacy and athletic game in England and I don’t know why he has changed it.

“It is a question I would like to ask him myself. When you have succeeded in a certain way at the top level, why change it

“He had great success with the technique, athleticism, intensity and aggression. Can you play total football in England and win the league? I don’t know.

“But it looks as if Arsene is going to go down that route of trying to play like Barcelona.”

Dmytro Chygrynskiy is confident that he will succeed as an FC Barcelona player, as he continues his adaption to both the city and the club.

The Ukrainian defender was optimistic as he spoke to the press after training on Thursday and was in no doubt that he would rediscover the form that attracted the Blaugrana to him in the summer. “I am happy with how things have been going in training,” he explained. “The last week has gone very well for me. My level and my state of mind have been improving.”

Period of adaption

“I needed more time to adapt than I thought I would, but I knew that it would not be easy for me to play all the time,” Chygrynskiy continued. “Here there is more pressure from the fans and the press and the way of playing is very different to how the game is played in Ukraine. One thing is desire and another is reality. What I have to do now is show what I can do in training.”

Team help

“Carles Puyol, Rafael Márquez, Gaby Milito and Gerard Piqué are all very experienced players,” Chygrynskiy said. “But despite Piqué being so young he has already won the Champions League twice. They can all help me with many things, not just the coaches. I ask them about the structure of the play and the team and they teach many new things.”

Officially speaking

Asked about the question of refereeing this season, Chygrynskiy was not keen to become involved. “I do not believe that we should be talking about referees,” he commented. “We should only think about how we play and we know if we play well we will have no problems. The title race will be between Barça and Real Madrid.”

Fond memories

Looking back to his debut against Getafe in September Chygrynskiy has fond memories and is looking for forward to facing the same opponents once more this weekend. “It was a difficult match in the first half but after the break Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the two goals that gave us victory. It was good for me because we won and did not concede a goal.”

He continued: “I do not believe that Getafe will be affected by their Copa del Rey game in midweek and we have to be at our best to win. If we play our game then we should be able to beat them.”

Spanish speaking

Dmytro Chygrynskiy has picked up Spanish despite only being in Barcelona five months. The Ukrainian responded to all questions in the press conference in Spanish as he sought to show that his daily lessons are paying off.

In an interview with Italy sports daily La Gazetta Dello Sport, Palermo midfielder Javier Pastore (20), has stated his dream to one day play for FC Barcelona.

“In 10 years’ time, I can see myself raising a family and hopefully I can wear the Barcelona shirt, I dream of challenging Messi and to have his shirt, but lets go slowly on that”, said Pastore

The Argentinian is having a fine season at the Sicilian outfit, where he has played 21 games so far this season, scoring 1 goal and chipping in with 3 assists. He’s seen as an attacking midfielder in the number 10 mould, and is currently drawing comparisons to some of the greats of world football. “I am getting better slowly, Kaka and Riquelme are two great players, but i still have a long way to go”.

His recent good form for ‘The Eagles’ has garnered interest from the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and even Inter Milan but the player has confirmed his loyalty to his current employers, singling out President Maurizio Zamparini for praise “I want to thank him (Zamparini) for believing in me.”

Having made his International debut for Argentina in December, scoring in a friendly against Catalunya, Pastore admits he would love to go to South Africa with the Albicelestes, “I hope Maradona will call me but for now the World Cup is a dream”

Standing at nearly 6 foot 2 and weighing only 12 stone it would seem Pastore, born in Cordoba, may have more in common with little Leo than he would like to admit as he is affectionately known as ‘El Flaco’ and ‘Huesito’ by his team-mates, which literally translates as the skinny one, the weak one and even the boney one.

Juventus defender and Barcelona loan out Martin Caceres (22), could be set to stay at Juventus according to reports from Italy.

Italian sports site Tuttosport reports Juventus directors Roberto Bettega and Alessio Secco will fly to Spain to discuss the transfer with Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

There is a buy-out clause in Caceres loan deal with Juventus for 13m Euro but Juventos are only willing to pay half of this amount according to the report.

The player wants to stay in Juventus according to Tuttosport so Juventos directors will use this to convince Barcelona to sell the player with the resonable price.

Team News

Barcelona

Dani Alves partook in the full training with his Barcelona team mates on Friday and due to the Brazilians ‘if I can walk, I can play’ mentality he is expected to return to the lineup having had come off some sensational form before his injury.
Another in-form player in French Left Back Eric Abidal only participated in half of the group training and should be replaced by Maxwell, meanwhile skipper Carles Puyol is a definite non-starter after he picked up his fifth yellow card against Sporting and will as a result serve a one match suspension – a suspension that could prove costly considering that the Blaugrana’s only two losses this season against Rubin Kazan and Sevilla respectably have been without the presence of Puyol in defence.

Predicted Starting XI, Barcelona: Valdes – Dani Alves – Pique – Chygrynskiy – Maxwell – Xavi – Busquets – Iniesta – Messi – Ibrahimovic – Henry

Getafe

A huge absence for Getafe with creative midfielder Pedro Leon out via yellow card accumulation whilst former Valencia number 8, Jaime Gavilan will most likely watch the game from the stands.

Predicted Starting XI, Getafe: Codina – Torres – Diaz – Rafa – Mane – Boateng – Casquero – Parejo – Albin – Manu – Soldado

Key Players

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Under fire and much criticized forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be in his element for this game as feeding due Xavi and Iniesta are held by a stubborn and forceful Getafe defence allowing Ibra to work his own magic up front, expect a creative and adventurous to replace ‘that tall useless centre forward up front’.

Roberto Soldado

So close against Barcelona earlier in the season as he saw his chance from 6 yards out parried away from Victor Valdes. Now more determined than ever, the former Real Madrid striker will be looking to cause frustration for a Puyol-less Barcelona defence as Getafe’s leading goalscorer looks to do just that and lead.

Catalan sports paper Sport today reports that FC Barcelona winger Jeffren Suarez has agreed to renew his contract, pending his agent-father’s arrival on Monday to finalise the negotiation.

The 22-year-old Venezuelan-born player will be assigned the Number ‘20’ jersey – last worn by Deco. If Pep Guardiola chooses to play him against Getafe, he can don the jersey for the first time tonight.

Nonetheless, since UEFA does not allow modifications to the initial submitted players list, Jeffren will still have to play with his No. ‘35’ for this season’s Champions League.

Jeffren debuted for the first team on 25 October 2006 in a Copa del Rey second-leg match against Badalona when he replaced Javier Saviola in the 83rd minute. He was inducted as a permanent member of the team beginning of this season even though he has only managed to play in 8 official matches so far, and has yet to score any goal.

The player’s current contract expires on 30 June this year, and according to earlier reports is expected to be offered a three-year extension that could see him remain with the club until 2013.

In the Getafe La Liga pre-match press conference today, Pep Guardiola is preparing his players and fans for something so obvious: “If we perform well, it will take much longer, but sooner or later we will lose. I told them (the players) not to feel disappointed (when it does happen) as there are still a lot of league matches to be played, and the five points we have now means nothing yet.”

Touching on their opponent tomorrow, the FC Barcelona coach acknowledged Getafe’s virtues as a tough rival to beat as they have managed to draw at the Camp Nou two seasons in a row before this (0-0: 2007-08, and 1-1: 2008-09) : “They can tie a knot around you, so we must not fall into their trap.”

“They have always been a good team, coached well and with good players. All our matches against them have always been full of risk.”

“They will not come here tired, and will give their all. They are three points adrift of the UEFA spot, and in the Copa semi-final against Sevilla, we saw what they are capable of. Just look at their players; Casquetro, Albin, Parejo, Adrian, Armor, etc. They are a team that plays good football.”

Talking about his opposite number, Michel Gonzalez, the Catalan coach said, “As a player he was extraordinary… I remember the time when Barcelona was after him. He is just passionate about football, and knows many players. I am so happy and delighted that he is doing well in his first season.”

While admitting playing once a week does have its advantage, Guardiola is still uncertain of its full benefit: “While I have full confidence in the team by the way they have performed, and in our training sessions, the truth of the fact is we are not yet accustomed to not playing during the week. It can only be answered in due time.”

“Even though the team is a lot fresher physically, they could lose their competitive instinct, but playing in the Camp Nou, they will always give their best.”

Answering a question about his first choice centre-forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Guardiola maintained his stance of defending the Swede: “He is obsessed with his responsibility (towards the team). His movements are also important, not just producing goals… something that does not bother me too much.”

“I don’t know to what extent we can all talk about this ‘drought’. A lot of our goals and plays have been due to Ibra; releasing other players, and creating spaces. Even if he failed to score goals, which he had already done… we know that here, all No. 9s are judged by their goals, but when we sign him, we are not just looking for his goal-scoring abilities but also for his other merits.”

Guardiola also came out in defense of winger Thierry Henry, one of the most discussed players in the squad: “He is still quite a few steps above Pedro. He had competed with top flight players for a long time, and Pedro is only starting to prove his goal-scoring abilities now. I have great faith in Titi, and I am confident he will recover his best form.”

“I will not respond to questions about players from other teams. I don’t want to create any confusion,” Guardiola insisted when asked about any transfer plan.