Lionel Messi: Titanic Sinks As Barcelona Taste Rare Defeat, Messi Fails To Show

In what seemed like a sure victory after Barcelona put the first goal in net, the game ended in complete opposite fashion.

Arsenal made a heroic comeback to shock the Spanish giants with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates. Goals from Robin van Persie and Asharvin made certain of the victory and gives the Gunners all hope as both teams will meet once again in Spain at the Camp Nou.

Arsenal are not out of the woods by any means, they will face a battle far larger, a team more resilient and an atmosphere that could push the home team to unthinkable heights.

The Arsenal team and fans where in most regards hoping for a small bitter defeat—or a draw, at most—against a team filled with quality and ability from start to end.

But a second half display, a sense of belief and desire, passion and the energy to take on the most potent attack in world football, saw Arsenal walk away as victors.

Barcelona with all their quality are worthless without the ball, and that's exactly what Arsenal did in the second half. They were able to move the ball faster, and when they lost possession, they were able to snatch it back before Barca made any real progress going forward.

At times, the Arsenal defense pushed the Barca attack further back, making them work towards any progression and thus killing off parts of their game.

Another major factor on the night was the performance of Leonel Messi—or lack there of.

Many casual viewers would be marveled by his ability after last night's game. But in the true sense of his character and quality, it was an off-night for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or recepient.

Messi made opportunities and failed to finish, he created chance but failed to lay off the final ball. With all due respect to the Argentinian, he was disappointing.

On the other hand, many of the Barcelona players failed to deliver in the second half, allowing Arsenal back in the game and losing possession at crucial times.

While we don't want to take any away from Arsenal and the brilliance in both goals, it would be very different had Barca been in top form.

Playing week in and week out in La Liga, Barcelona is not the kind of team that requires to be strong in defense in comparison to the EPL—and that's a fact.

For those who disagree, my view is simply that Barca has such a strong team and keep the ball so much that it's rare for them to face continuous onslaughts from the opposition.

Nevertheless, Arsenal made that count as they galvanized themselves and put enough pressure on the Spaniards to ensure that they fall apart. 

In some regards Arsenal should feel lucky as they were given two lifelines, two clear hand-ball incidents by Arsenal players in the box were not seen and thank fully for Wenger and his "boys," they are able to go to Spain with a 2-1 advantage. 

For many who thought it impossible for Arsenal to beat Barcelona—and I would admit I'm amongst those—the Gunner's proved us wrong. It makes the return leg, one of the most anticipated clashes in this round of the Champions League 2011.

And please...someone switch Leo Messi back on!!!