The Argentina ace grabbed two goals as the Spanish league leaders built a convincing advantage over their opponents, with the forward able to break his duck against Petr Cech
Lionel Messi claimed Barcelona knew Champions League opponents Arsenal would be unable to cope with the pressure of their attack, as the Catalans claimed a 2-0 first-leg lead in London.
The Liga leaders were held at bay until the second period at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday before the Argentina forward struck the game's opener with 71 minutes on the clock.
Messi doubled his tally just 12 minutes later to put Barca in control of the tie, and the 28-year-old revealed his team-mates knew their Premier League opponents would struggle to keep a clean sheet following the half-time interval.
He told TV3: "We played excellently against a fantastic team. I’m delighted with the way we played throughout the game.
"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.
"We started to find space and were able to open the scoring. Arsenal are capable of anything. We leave here with a great result, but the idea had always been to go out and win."
Messi's midweek brace took his Champions League tally to 82 goals, yet it was the first time he had netted past Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech in six attempts.
"Fortunately I was able to stick the penalty away this time," Messi said when asked about scoring his second from the penalty spot. "We’ve missed a few this season, but that’s because goalkeepers are doing their homework on us”.
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