We wonder if Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil go round each other’s house for dinner.
Actually, it doesn’t matter. The Arsenal trio could be present at the births of their team-mates’ children and they still wouldn’t be operating on the same planet as Barcelona’s MSN front line.
The extra-terrestrial trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar will share a stadium with Arsenal tonight but, for some time now, it seems the South American trio are playing a different sport from most of their competitors.
Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League last-16 clash at the Emirates Stadium could not be any more daunting for Arsenal, or any more appealing for neutrals.
A somewhat flaky Arsenal side (who conceded 10 goals in the group stages, including three at home to Olympiacos) against the reigning champions, whose front three have scored NINETY-ONE goals between them so far this season.
Arsenal, in all competitions, have scored 61 goals.
Poor old Cristiano Ronaldo had to fend off questions about how his relationship with home video enthusiast Karim Benzema and Gareth “Nandos withdrawal symptoms” Bale compares to the Barca trio.
While the Real Madrid superstar may feel slightly nauseated at the public displays of affection and jokey “Gordos” shared between the Barcelona forwards, MSN do seem to take this feeling of mutual appreciation on to the pitch with them.
Of the 91 (NINETY-ONE) goals they have scored between them, they have teed each other up for 73 of them. Suarez is leading the race for Europe’s Golden Boot with 41 goals to date, but this is all the more impressive when you consider the fact he has had a hand in 16 of Messi’s goals and 15 of Neymar’s.
It is not just the sheer enormity of the numbers that screams “GREATEST OF ALL TIME” it’s the unadulterated joy with which they go about their work.
This is just a recent example of three linking up like psychic soccer savants, but there are about 72 more of them this season, as the Barca boys take football to places we’ve never been before.
https://twitter.com/iTweetSports473/status/698977390274301952
Never before?
Well, who compares.
Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo
Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning trio were the beating heart and sharp end of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side. Ronaldo’s power and finishing, Ronaldinho’s imagination and Rivaldo’s cunning – “give the ball to the front lads” was a viable tactic for a side that featured Kleberson in midfield.
Still, it is almost impossible for an international combination to build up the understanding of MSN. As beautiful and menacing as the Brazilians were, they are not quite on the same level.
Morientes, Raul, Zidane
Very different from either MSN or RRR, but viciously efficient when it came to putting opposition defences to the sword.
The Spanish duo had already won a Champions League in 2000 but when the French magician came on board it added a new dimension to a fearsome attack, which up to then had relied on Raul’s lethal finishing and Morientes’ whip-smart movement.
Zinedine Zidane was the creative spark required to get the best from the front two, but also a menace in his own right, as displayed in unforgettable fashion at Hampden in 2002 when he added to Raul’s opener against Bayern Leverkusen with one of the greatest Champions League final goals ever.
Van Basten, Papin, Laudrup
More a case of what might have been than anything else. At the time AC Milan assembled this terrifying collection of attacking talent, UEFA were imposing a three foreigner limit in the Champions League, which means we never saw this trio link up at the highest level.
Fabio Capello’s faith in Zvonimir Boban and Marcel Desailly meant that the opposites attract partnership of Jean-Pierre Papin and Marco Van Basten was reserved for Serie A of the early 1990s, where the 1-0 win was raised to the level of high art.
Would never have competed with MSN on the entertainment stakes but the idea of Brian Laudrup freed up to supply that duo is frightening.
Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney
Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney were outstanding during Manchester United’s 2007/08 season. The trio scored 79 goals between them, with Ronaldo contributing more than half, but their brilliance went beyond mere statistics.
Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez were all inter-changeable in United’s formation, with each player capable of playing out wide or as the lone frontman, and all found a way to hurt the opposition.
Rooney and Tevez did a lot of the donkey work for Ronaldo, often sacrificing themselves by dropping back into midfield, but it ultimately worked as United won the Premier League and Champions League.
The following season Tevez’s role was reduced and within a year only Rooney remained. United fans must think what might’ve been had the club managed to keep them all together.
Henry, Bergkamp, Pires
Dennis Bergkamp was in the autumn of his career during Arsenal’s Invincible’s season in 2003/04, which is just as well because it wouldn’t have been fair if the Dutch genius was at his peak alongside the world class Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.
Henry was among the best players in the world at the time, scoring 39 goals in all competitions and registering 19 Premier League assists. While Pires, from a wide position, scored 19 goals and set up 12 goals
Bergkamp’s goal contribution was reduced to just 5, but the Dutchman chipped in with 10 assists, and was a key player for Wenger’s side when he did feature.
The trio displayed a level of understanding that has been rarely seen since in the Premier League. Both Henry and Pires both often started wide, before cutting inside to devastating effect.
Bergkamp stayed central, in a withdrawn position, and brilliantly linked up with his more athletic, explosive teammates, playing through balls at will and looking like a dream to play alongside.
To celebrate teaming up with the UEFA Champions League, Walkers are on hand to get you #GAMEREADY with prizes from official UEFA T-shirts and footballs, to tickets to the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final in Milan. To be in with a chance of winning visit www.game-ready.com.
