It's all a little Messi for Arsenal again

ARSENAL 0 BARCELONA 2

By Ricky Butler at the Emirates

ARSENAL ARE all but out of the Champions League at the round of 16 for the sixth year in a row after two late goals from Lionel Messi last night gave Barcelona a 2-0 win at the Emirates.

This was not a classic performance by the Spanish champions by any means and for more than an hour Arsene Wenger's side had the better chances. But in the end it was inevitably that man Messi, as he so often does, who proved to be the difference.

Having suffered poor first leg performances at this stage in recent years, Arsenal at least proved they have learned the lessons of the past. In fact had Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, selected ahead of Theo Walcott for his defensive duties, or Olivier Giroud, taken the chances that came their way either side of half time, Wenger's men may well have had a lead to take to the Nou Camp.

But as soon as the Gunners were caught on the counter attack with less than 20 minutes to play, there was only ever going to be one winner. Messi had been having one of his least effective performances until then, but aided by the work of Neymar and Luis Suarez, the little Argentinian displayed a cool head to fire past the exposed Petr Cech, his first goal against the giant Cech in seven previous attempts.

Suarez then hit the post before Messi won a penalty for a clumsy challenge by substitute Mathieu Flamini, who had only been on the field for 49 seconds. Messi made no mistake from 12 yards to all but end Arsenal's interest in the competition once again.

Yet it could have been so different. Happy to concede possession early on, Arsenal always looked threatening on the break and just past the 20 minute mark they should have taken the lead. It was a lovely move involving Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil and when Hector Bellerin's shot was blocked, Oxlade-Chamberlain was left with an open goal. A little composure was needed but instead the Englishman mis-kicked his shot straight into the body of stricken Barca goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegan.

Giroud was slightly more unfortunate. His second half header was destined for the bottom corner of the net until ter Stegan got down smartly to his right to claw the ball away.

So for all their improvements the result for Arsenal was the same. Having won second legs away in Bayern Munich and Monaco in recent years, all may not quite be lost for Wenger side. But few would back them to score three times next month in the Nou Camp.

In any case it is possible that an early Champions League exit may benefit them in the long run. With a tough Premier League run in to come and a possible third straight FA Cup success still a possibility, Arsenal still have much to play for domestically.

Worryingly, however, is a lack of goals. This is the fifth time in the last eight matches that they have failed to score. The goals are drying up at the wrong time of the season and unless the trend is broken quickly their season could be over before the clocks go forward.

As for Barca well they look simply unstoppable. If you can stop Messi, as Arsenal did well for the most part, you have Suarez to deal with. If you keep him quite then there is Neymar. No team on the planet can live with that.

Next up for the Gunners is the small matter of a trip to Old Trafford on Sunday. How they respond to this set-back will shape the rest of their season.