Arsenal bloodied, bruised and in tatters after Messi mauling in the Nou Camp

Lionel Messi became only the sixth player in European Cup history to score four goals in a game as an imperious Barcelona swept Arsenal aside by four goals to one to set up a semi-final showdown with Italian champions Inter Milan. Messi's performance was a joy to behold, and may well have confirmed the young Argentine as the world's best player. Arsenal, who took a surprise lead in the Nou Camp through Nicklas Bendtner, who scrambled the ball home after his initial effort from Theo Walcott's cross was saved by Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes, had no answer for Messi's exceptional pace and impeccable finishing. Whilst the scoreline may suggest so, Arsenal were by no means cannon fodder for the Spanish giants, and more than played their part in what has been a superb quarter-final tie between the two sides. Indeed they could have pulled a goal back before Messi completed the rout on 88 minutes with a low shot after his initial effort was saved, Nicklas Bendtner both off-side and off-target as his header rebounded off the Barcelona post to safety. In the early stages it appeared that Barcelona, inspired and led throughout the match by their talismanic striker, would seize the initiative and control the game as they had done at the Emirates a week ago, with Messi testing Almunia and curling a shot onto the roof of the net, to the relief of the Arsenal goalkeeper. However Los Cules were stunned by the Gunners' opener, a textbook example of breakaway counter-attacking football, and Arsenal could have extended their lead, had Diaby spotted Walcott in space instead of choosing to play the ball to Bendtner. It was to prove an extremely costly mistake, as Silvestre gifted possession to Messi who lashed home the equaliser, before netting his second having been teed-up by Pedro to finish the move he had started. His fourth hat-trick of 2010 was completed just five minutes later, when following Seydou Keita's header Messi executed an exquisite lob, which comfortably sailed over the head of the stranded Manuel Almunia, to sent a shell-shocked Arsenal 3-1 down into the dressing room. Wenger's unwelcome scenario, whether to push for a way back into the match and leave his team vulnerable to further Messi magic or not, meant the second-half was a comparatively quieter affair, but the Barcelona forward grabbed the last word with his fourth goal of an astonishing night, and incredible season. For Arsenal the defeat wasn’t altogether unexpected, given the manner of the performance Barcelona were able to produce in the opening twenty minutes in the first leg, and few would expect Arsène Wenger or his players to complain about losing to a far superior outfit. Indeed Wenger himself commented “I believe we lost against a team that is better than us and that has the best player in the world,” adding “Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace.” Blaugrana boss Pep Guardiola described his young star’s performance as “awesome”, whilst Manuel Almunia, the undoubted hero of the first leg, summed up the game excellently, “We were beaten by a brilliant player and a brilliant team in general.” The fact that Messi is already capable, at the tender age of 22, of such truly astonishing performances, will be both fascinating and terrifying to fans of an England persuasion, who will be praying that the ‘new Maradona’ is unable to translate his club form into international success, along with the other nations competing in South Africa this summer.