Confidence- the material that is in abundant supply at Old Trafford is what may be lacking at The Emirates. This has cost Arsene Wenger's teenagers a lot but the good news is that these youngsters are learning fast and if their showing against ball juggling Barcelona the other day is anything to go by then there is real hope for the future.

The way Arsenal fought back from a goal deficit to beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Champions league first leg match at The Emirates has really pleased  Arsene Wenger  who now fancies a big forward march to reach the pinnacle in Europe.

It is really going to be pretty tough though for Arsenal at Nou Camp where Barcelona have scored 64 goals in 21 matches in all competitions that would work out to be an average of more than three per game.

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi who was not on target at The Emirates has scored 13 champions league goals in his last 12 fixtures.  In 36 matches this season, Messi has scored 41 goals and Arsenal would do well to stop him from scoring at Nou Camp.

Barcelona are adept in ball possession and they can make you look stupid at will. Their average ball possession in the Champions league is 75 per cent and can you imagine that their 66 per cent dominance at the Emirates against Arsenal is regarded as their worst figure so far. There is no doubt that the upcoming return encounter would be most exciting.

It is hoped that the newly acquired self-confidence by Arsenal would help them stand toe to toe with the Nou Camp wizards.  However, Arsene Wenger knows he cannot afford to take risks like he did against Leyton Orient in the English FA Cup that has resulted in a replay after that nail biting 1-1 draw.

With the sad exit of defending champions Chelsea, the FA Cup needs stalwarts like Arsenal to team up with perennial cup holders Manchester United to give the championship the respectability it deserves.

Manchester United, with eyes on the upcoming Champions’ league clash against Marseille, and true to character presented a weakened side against Crawley Town in the FA Cup and had to sweat for the thinnest of victories.

If Manchester fans thought the non-league club were on sightseeing at Old Trafford, they got it all wrong. Crawley couldn't care less about the last minute inclusion of ‘terrorist" striker Wayne Rooney and fought gingerly to the end. Once again Alex Ferguson's gamble paid off.

As an ardent admirer of colours, I liked the red and white combination of the jerseys of both teams that dominated both the pitch and the stands at Old Trafford. United were in white shorts, red top and black hoses whilst Crawley donned red shorts, white top and red hoses with white strips.

This reminds me of an incident in my home country, Ghana when a Premier league match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Berekum Arsenal on Oct 6 2010 was cancelled because the referee, Sellas Okine ruled that there had been a clash of jerseys.

Kotoko were in white top over red shorts with red hoses and Arsenal red top and white shorts with white hoses. The thick crowd that had paid to watch an exciting league match at Berekum went home disappointed. Tickets were not refunded and it took the organisers more than 11 weeks to get a replay on Boxing Day 2010.

I bet if referee Okine watches the TV footage of the United- Crawley match, he would bow down his head in shame for causing all that confusion at Berekum last October.  May be I would have to agree with those who are suggesting that Referee Okine needs to have his eyes well examined.

Surely this sporting life is full of excitement.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.