Lionel Messi was left gobsmacked by Arsenal player’s comments

Aston Villa V Arsenal in pictures

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Lionel Messi was left stunned by one Arsenal star after smashing four goals past the Gunners in an iconic Champions League display back in 2010. The Argentina hero grabbed all four goals as Barcelona battered the Premier League side 4-1 at the Nou Camp. 

Messi revealed soon after that one Arsenal player had approached him after the game to gush about the ‘honour’ of being on the same pitch. The then-22-year-old said it was a reflection of English clubs’ attitude to games in Europe. 

The Barca icon, who never named the individual in question, reflected that Premier League teams will often be ‘physical’ on the pitch but then be respectful once the match ends. 

“One of the Arsenal players came up to me afterwards and said it had been an honour to be on the same pitch as me. I thought, ‘My God, that is a great thing to say when your team has just lost’,” Messi told the Mirror after the game. 

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“I will always remember that. English clubs are physical and tough, and they play strong for the whole game. But afterwards they shake hands and they are fair.”

Messi was attempting to win his third Champions League at the time, having scored one of the goals in the final against Manchester United the year before. Barca were knocked out in 2009-10 by Inter Milan in the semi-finals but defeated United again the following season at Wembley in another legendary display.

After Messi scored four wonderful goals against Arsenal, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger hailed the attacker as a ‘PlayStation’ player. The Frenchman predicted that Messi would become ‘unbelievable’.

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He said: “He’s like a PlayStation. I think he can take advantage of every mistake you make. Barcelona are a very good side but of course they have Messi who can make the difference at any moment in the game.

“He is very young but he can achieve a lot. There are not many players who can score four goals like he did. He has six or seven great years ahead of him and he can become unbelievable. Touch wood nothing happens to him.”

Thirteen years on, it is fair to say Wenger has been proven correct about the World Cup winner. 

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