Arsenal 0 Barcelona 2: Lionel Messi 'knew' Gunners would buckle in the second half

Lionel Messi has claimed that he ‘knew’ Arsenal would buckle after half-time during Tuesday night’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Barcelona at the Emirates.

The La Liga side established a commanding 2-0 lead to take back to the Nou Camp thanks to a brace from the Argentina international, but only after his talents had been subdued by a disciplined first-half display from Arsene Wenger’s side.

Arsenal limited Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar’s number of opportunities and should have gone into the break ahead, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain missing the half’s best chance at point-blank range.

Messi, however, revealed that he and his team-mates were always confident of victory and expected the home side to wilt when under pressure in the second half.

“They worked really hard for each other during the first half but we knew they wouldn't be able to cope with the pressure after the break,” he revealed. “We started to find space and were able to open the scoring.”

The 28-year-old forward, who has now scored 29 goals in 32 appearances this season, nevertheless spared a word of praise for Arsenal and stressed the importance of his side claiming an away win.

“We played excellently against a fantastic team,” he said. “I'm delighted with the way we played throughout the game.

“Arsenal are capable of anything. We leave here with a great result, but the idea had always been to go out and win.”

The second leg will be played at the Nou Camp on 16 March.