Down Les Champs-Elysees, red and striped

It8217;s the final everyone wants, the sort of match-up the Very Big Occasion deserves but is rarely afforded. And, seeing it in context of the days ahead, the perfect build-up to the Bigger Occasion.

It8217;s the final everyone wants, the sort of match-up the Very Big Occasion deserves but is rarely afforded. And, seeing it in context of the days ahead, the perfect build-up to the Bigger Occasion.

And yet. And yet there is a cloud to this silver lining 8212; one of the two teams must lose on Wednesday night. And so the high art they have practiced all season, art almost for the sake of art itself, must be put aside as they play for silver.

They have each taken the high road to Paris, dazzling their opponents with sorcery, revealing a mindset 8212; the determination to play an attacking game 8212; we thought football had all but lost. For months the two most attractive teams in European football, each deserves its place in the Parc Des Princes.

Now we have to choose. Who would we rather have win? Barcelona, a diadem of precious stones arranged around the priceless Ronaldinho? Or Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger has bravely, almost improbably, wedded the full-blown genius of Thierry Henry with the blossoming talents of Fabregas, Reyes, Cole. Even Ladbrokes would have a tough time on that one though, for the record, they have installed Barcelona as favourites.

Most finals, especially at this level, come packaged for the consumer with convenient hero/villain or favourites/underdogs alternatives. Last year8217;s Champions League final was easy; the neutrals, even Man United fans, backed Liverpool. The year before that, in Euro 2004, one wished Greece8217;s fairytale run reached its illogical conclusion. And two years before that, everyone supported Brazil against Germany.

Trust high art to leave us with little choice.

Deprived of such easy packaging, we must look to the side stories. Henry is a good place to begin; his future at Arsenal beyond Wednesday is not certain and, should he star in an Arsenal win, the probability of his departure will increase exponentially. His likely destination: Barcelona.5

It8217;s not easy being an Arsenal fan.

For more delicious irony, turn to Cesc Fabregas. The boy wonder is so steeped in the red-and-white of Arsenal one tends to overlook the fact that he spent six years at Barcelona, the hometown club his family has supported, before leaving when he saw the way ahead was blocked. One of his tasks there, as a youth player, was to protect teammate and close friend Lionel Messi from the attentions of opposing defenders.

Story continues below this ad

Fabregas will be up against other could-have-been teammates. Van Bommel, for example, Edmilson, Iniesta, Xavi. The word is that back home in Barcelona they don8217;t want the kid to do well. Trust Fabregas to prove them wrong.

It won8217;t be easy because Barcelona are desperate to win this match. For all the jewels in their possession the Catalonians lack the silverware that matters: One European Cup is little more than an excuse for their hated Castillian rivals to mock them.

For both clubs, Wednesday will be a coming of age. Arsenal and Barcelona rank on the second string of top football clubs, after Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Juventus. It8217;s a status that has allowed them to play as they do, rather like the rock groups who defy the charts. Once the final whistle has blown in Paris, you fear one team will have grown up and changed forever.