Iniesta: Barcelona defeat not end of an era

Iniesta has rejected claims that Barcelona's 4-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich signalled the end of an era.



The Bundesliga champions swept aside the revered Catalan side with astonishing ease in Tuesday's semi-final first leg, inflicting their heaviest European defeat in 16 years.



Chelsea, Celtic, Milan and Real Madrid have all defeated the tika-taka exponents in the last year but Iniesta shrugged off suggestions that the football model to follow has moved from Barcelona to Munich.



"I think it is unjust to talk about the end of an era," he told a press conference in Barcelona.



"This team in the past five years has won two Champions Leagues, been to three more semi-finals, we are about to win a fourth league in five years, we have won Supercups and everything else, it has been a blessed cycle of success.



"That is many years winning and fighting for everything. If you analyse five years in one game against Munich it doesn't make any sense. For me, the end of an era is when years pass and you don't win titles.



"People need to have a lot of respect for this squad, manager and club in general.



"Evidently we need to improve but this is an evolution that the club has to have. It doesn't make sense to me to talk about the ending of an era."



No side has before overturned a 4-0 first leg deficit in the Champions League but Iniesta insisted pride would be at stake at Camp Nou on Wednesday.



"They (Bayern) are in a very good moment right now and we need to recognise their superiority," he added. "Other opponents have recognised it with us.



"It hurts to not have been able to live with the demands that Bayern imposed on us but we need to appeal to our faith a little for the return leg. If we are going to go out, we need to do it giving everything."


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Cazorla Reveals Barcelona Inspiration

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla says he tries to model his game on Barcelona schemer Andres Iniesta.



The Spanish midfielder has set the Premier League alight since his summer switch from Malaga, playing an integral part in Arsenal's impressive start to the season.



And Cazorla says he owes his success down to how he models his game around his international colleague Iniesta.



"Iniesta is the standard against which I measure myself," Cazorla admitted. "Playing by his side is something else. He's a total footballer in every sense.



"Every day with him is something to treasure and learn from. I try to copy the things he does, but it's very difficult. The problem is that when he does them he makes them look easy, but then you try it and you get all tangled up. Andrés is a role model on and off the pitch."



The 27 year old's impact for Arsenal has been such that many already consider him among the signings of the summer, and his early success in north London was capped with his first goal in the win over West Ham United.



Cazorla's performances have evoked memories of Cesc Fabregas' influence in midfield during his days at The Emirates Stadium, with the former Villarreal midfielder supplying the bullets for the likes of Lukas Podolski and Gervinho.



"I've adapted to my new team really well," Cazorla added.



"The change hasn't been as drastic as you might think. The football is quicker and more intense, but I wasn't shocked by that. Plus I've joined a team, Arsenal, whose playing style is very similar to the one at Málaga."



Meanwhile, Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone has against quashed rumours of a move away from The Gunners.



Despite stepping in ably for the injured Wojciech Szczesny for much of the campaign, Mannone has been linked with a move to his homeland on a regular basis.



But the 24 year old said: "I want to make it clear, because there have been unfounded rumours, that my contract is not ending in 12 months.



"I've got a few more years and I'm happy to be at Arsenal right now. I'm looking at the present and my future is not in doubt.



"I want to stay at Arsenal as long as I can, I don't want to move to any other club."

Andres Iniesta ruled out for two weeks

Andres Iniesta returned from Spain international duty with a muscle strain in his right leg and will be out for between 10 and 15 days, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday.



Iniesta will miss Saturday's La Liga match at Getafe and Wednesday's Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow but could be back for the La Liga game against Granada a week on Saturday.



His Spain and Barca teammate Jordi Alba, who was also called up for Friday's friendly against Saudi Arabia and Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Georgia, has the flu and club medical staff will assess the fullback's health again on Friday, Barca added.



Forward David Villa, another Spain international, said on Wednesday he still needed some "running in" after recently returning to action following a broken leg sustained at the Club World Cup in December.



"I was out for many months, almost eight without playing, and that requires a certain recovery process," Villa told a news conference before Wednesday's training session.



"You have to be patient because rushing back now would not benefit anyone," added the 30-year-old, Spain's record scorer who netted on his first game back for both club and country.



"Everything I missed in the meantime won't come back however fast I go."