the threat posed by Arsenal in the Champions League.
The Spain international shrugged off an injury that kept him out of
their previous Champions League encounter with Stuttgart, but the
midfielder has recovered and he's very happy at the prospect of
facing Arsenal in a UEFA competition. Albeit, he believes the Gunners
will meet their match when they play them at the Emirates and Camp Nou
respectively.
The engine room of Barca's midfield likened the tie to a high profile
collision: "The knock-out game is like a collision between two trains
going at force and with great power. It is normal that I think we are
favourites. But we are ready for that, we're all prepared and I
believe it will come down to who commits the most mistakes because
both teams play great football, they attack and it will be a special
game."
Xavi revealed that they won't be over reliant on their little
magician, and Arsenal shouldn't concentrate their limited resources
on stopping the 22-year-old who averages a goal every 37 minutes. He
added that his friendship with Fabregas will be put on voicemail for a
week.
"Messi is a big player for us but if Arsenal is obsessed with him then
they will not be able to stop our other players. It's the same with
Cesc Fabregas. He's a friend of mine, but that will stop in the games
against Arsenal.
Even if Cesc is not fully fit then he will still be determined to
play. He's a brave player and we want to play against him because you
always want to face the best players.
"We will be without Andres Iniesta but the challenge for the rest of
the players is to be at their best and make sure we can overcome his
absence."
