Arsenal exit the Champions League at the last 16 stage yet again after they were beaten 3-1 in the Nou Camp this evening.
Arsene Wenger's side were billed to be facing an impossible task as they trailed 2-0 on aggregate after Messi's cameo at the Emirates two weeks ago was enough to all but kill the tie.
Barcelona began brightly, a number of long diagonal balls troubled the Arsenal full backs and David Ospina was forced into a good save from Neymar when he got in behind Laurent Koscielny.
The Brazilian wasn't guilty of making the same mistake when he was given another bite at it - Arsenal gave the ball away sloppily and Neymar went one-on-one to to put the home side one-up.
Neymar battles for possession in the first half. Image: Nick Potts / EMPICS Sport
It must be in the Londoner's genetic make-up that they only begin to play when the game is beyond them in big games like these.
Alex Iwobi had a penalty shout waved away, but otherwise there was no cutting edge about Arsenal in the opening half.
After the restart, Arsenal came out with their tails up. Mohamed Elneny took just six minutes to draw the visitors level on the night after an excellent pass from Sanchez fooled the Barcelona defence and his effort rocketed into the top corner.
Only minutes later, Danny Welbeck had the chance to put them ahead if not for an excellent block from Javier Mascherano.
The pressure was sustained, but as is typical with Barcelona, they went into the lead once again courtesy of a stunning Luis Suarez strike.
Luis Suarez with an excellent finish to Barcelona ahead. Image: Nick Potts / EMPICS Sport
The introduction of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott had very little impact on proceedings as the head began to slowly drop and they lost their defensive structure.
Lionel Messi grabbed his customary goal right at the end of the night, a dink reminiscent of his effort against Manuel Neuer last season.
It finished 3-1 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate and in the end, the scoreline was a fair reflection on the two legs.
Arsenal showed good resilience and guile for the bulk of the two legs, but they were lacking in sheer class, which Barcelona have in abundance.
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