Thierry Henry: Messi is super-human

The France international said it is hard to fathom that the Argentine
whiz-kid is a human.

Messi has been in superlative form, banging in the necessary goods and
above all, he's been able to maintain a cool head which has endeared him
to many.
Even Pep Guardiola, in his last interview asserted that the youngster
was reverred at Camp Nou by his team mates, so it is not a surprise to
hear a once (he's lost that magic touch and control) prolific goal
scorer accord honour to whom it's due.

"I have played alongside some great players, but Leo is very special,"
Henry enthused. "What Leo can do is difficult to find in any player.

"The other day I had my head in my hands because I did not know how he
does such things."

The ex Gunner revealed that Messi's bag of tricks is very extensive,
and infact it's difficult to understand how simple the application can
look, yet he somehow manages to captivate his viewers.

"I received a lot of messages all asking me if Leo is human. At times
I myself that what he does is not normal, we just have to enjoy it
all."

Wenger - forget Thierry's return, "Fabregas is a winner"

Arsene Wenger is adamant that Barcelona defeat was the worst in his
illustrious managerial career.

The manager refused to compare Fabregas and Messi, concluding that
"Fabregas and Messi are completely different players."

The boss maintained that Arsenal's machinery is in perfect condition to
help him assuage his feelings by giving the team from Spain a dose of
their medicine.
He was under no illusion, when he urged Arsenal and the fans to
temporarily forget the love and compassion they have for their
darling Thierry Henry, when he makes his emotional return to the
Emirates: "Henry had a fantastic time at Arsenal, and we are forever
grateful," said Wenger.

"But on the day, you think really we will be focused on how Thierry
Henry will feel on the day? We will be focused on our game. The rest
will be disrespectful."

Promininent on the gaffer's to-do-list is revenge - he doesn't care if it is
at home/away, the bottom-line is we must advance to the Semis at the
expense of the Catalan giants.

Wenger who blamed the referee for our defeat to Barcelona at the
Champions League final four years ago, is still defiant that the
referee made a mistake by sending off Jens Lehmann: "When a referee
makes a decision like that he has to be absolutely sure," he said.

"You cannot kill a final that one billion people watch. Yes, we have
regrets. I do not say we could not win the game. Thierry had two good
chances. But it was not the game that everybody expected on the day.

"We had a fantastic season in the Champions League, we only lost one
game and that was the final, in the whole season. The game was not
there. Eleven against 11, it would have been a fantastic game."

The manager admits that Pires has refused to forgive his decision to
substitute him on that fateful night, albeit the gaffer recognises the
decision as a mistake and he's amazed at how vivid memories of the
night and past events were on his mind.

"Then we had to take Pires off, and he still hates me today! We took a
great player out who could have added to the quality of the game.

"You never forget completely about the game and in a Champions League
final you know you will not get back there necessarily the next year.
You never forget it, but you have to focus on what is in front of you
in this job.

"I did an interview recently about ten years at Arsenal. I was
surprised at how much I remembered from every single disappointment. I
thought I had forgotten but evey little detail came out in my head."

Arsene believes that Fabregas and Messi are both unique in different
ways, and he insists that Fabregas as a professional won't give in to
emotions easily when he faces his former club.

"Fabregas and Messi are completely different players. What is
interesting is that they played together in the youth team.

"When I spoke with Fabregas's mother when she brought him here at 16,
she said they always won 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, or 9-0 because Pique, Fabregas
and Messi played in the same team.

"There will certainly be some emotion there but Fabregas is a winner,
he wants first to qualify. I believe Cesc goes out every single game
to win it - if it is Barcelona or someone else, he will just want to
qualify.

"Actually we owe Barcelona one - if that's the word. We'll be up for
it, and are looking to get a couple of decent results."

Wishes are now as prevalent as roses

We've got it! The dream match, the Camp Nou experience, the
possibility of evicting Europe's power-house from the Champions League
and the stark reality involved if we fail looms ahead.

Clichy has been wishing for the right but sinister things within the
week, and I am really glad the chap got what he wanted. The question
every gooner is/might be pondering on is if the young man can deliver
his promise by living up to our lofty expectations.

That apart, we now face an uphill task in our bid to unseat the
incumbent holders of the Champions League, who have in their
possession the World's most lethal attacker. We have our own
weapon/weapons, and it isn't an individual weapon but rather the team
as a whole.
And maybe, we'll finally get our long awaited chance to inflict damage
on the Catalan club's title aspirations by scuppering their
second-term ambition.

Thierry Henry, will definately be elated about the prospect of him
playing and maybe scoring against his former employer (Arsenal).
Personally I think Henry has lost the magic and flair that endeared
him to so many Arsenal fans. He's the least of our problems.

The draws have been made. Here they are:

The quarter-finals first legs will be played on March 30/31 and the
return legs on April 6/7 respectively.

Arsenal v Barcelona

Bayern Munich v Manchester United

Inter v CSKA Moscow

Lyon v Bordeaux

The semi-finals draw for the elite club event is as follows:

Bayern Munich/Manchester United v Lyon/Bordeaux

Inter Milan/CSKA Moscow v Arsenal/Barcelona

The first legs will be played on April 20/21 and the second legs on April 27/28

Thierry Henry believes "Nobody" wants Barca because of Messi and Stuttgart coach compares him to "Diego Maradona"

Arsenal's former player Thierry Henry has claimed that every club
(including Arsenal) is scared of playing the Spanish Champions,
because of Messi.

Henry was full of praise for his team mate after his goals and overall
team contribution helped the Champions dump German side Stuttgart out
of the Champions League. Stuttgart felt like they were hit by a fiery
thunderbolt, but it was all the doing of no other person than Lionel
Messi, who personally booked their flight to Germany via a superlative
display.
The ex Arsenal forward is obvious of the fact that they are favoured
by almost every Soccer pundit to win a second successive title, to
continue their rein as European Champions and he believes Messi will
be instrumental to that effect.

Henry has refused to doubt the little magician's prowess on the pitch
and admits his touch of brilliance and commitment is what every Coach
yearns for: "It's kind of ridiculous what he's doing," Henry enthused.

"It's amazing. I don't know if you can say he's playing better, but
he's maintaining what he was doing and playing at a level where nobody
from Barcelona wants him to stop."

Stuttgart's coach Christian Gross showered encomiums on the little
Argentine who wrecked his team's chances of making the quarter-finals
of the most prestigious club event on Earth: "His ability is
incredible," Gross admitted. "When you consider his age I think it's
fine to compare him to Diego Maradona."

Clichy dreams of Arsenal v Barca final

Gael Clichy believes Arsenal's Champions League revenge is near, even nearer than you
can imagine.

The left-back said the Gunners are experienced enough to fight
Barcelona to a standstill if they meet at the final or any stage of
the Champions League.

The Frenchman believes in the team's undying spirit and he's adamant
Arsenal can become the first London club to taste Champions League
glory. He also fancies a date with Arsenal's legend Thierry Henry, to
add gloss to his achievements at North London.

"Of course, now the team to beat is Barcelona," Clichy enthused.
"Playing against Thierry Henry would be great for Arsenal fans and for
us. Playing against a team like Barcelona is always a dream -
especially if we win."

The Arsenal defensive enforcer says it will be very nice if Arsenal
get a French team in the Champions League draw tomorrow. Because he
won't like to play an English team, not because they are good but for
the simple reason that there is diversity in the Champions League.

"So if I have to choose one team to beat in the final it would be
Barcelona. For me, to win against the holders would be the dream
final. I'd like to avoid an English team. Not because they are strong
because at this stage of the competition whoever you play are really
good.

"But because you want to play a French team, a Spanish team, an
Italian team - you want to taste the Champions League perfume.

"I'm French so I'd like to play a French team. I haven't played a
French team since I joined the team so it would be so good for me and
the French boys."

Henry - don't rule out Arsenal

Ex Gunner and now Barcelona player Thierry Henry, believes Arsenal
have the complete credentials required for a genuine title pursuit.
The Arsenal legend in his interview with the Times didn't conceal his
love for the North London outfit, and made it crystal clear that once
you're a Gunner, you'll always be a Gunner.

"I know its coming up to five years since we won a trophy" Henry told
the Times. "but don't rule us out of the premier league title this
year.
"you can't - when a team have proved they can get up off the floor
after not one heavy blow to the chin but two, you have to take their
chances seriously.

"Arsene wenger's players took into beatings in big matches - from
manchester united and still kept pace with those clubs at the top of
the league. "Now you look at our remaining programme starting with
Burnley at the Emirates and you can see that the other members of the
so - called big four are safely out of the way.
"With no disrespect to the rest, that has to be an advantage. So we're
very much in the fighting for the big prize. And there can be no doubt
now that Arsene's latest generation have the stomach for the fight.
"They have survived a lot this season, including injuries to Cesc
Fabregas and, still, Robin Van Persie. In fact, you could say that if
Van Persie had stayed in the side, we might even be top now."