Arsenal Striker Nicklas Bendtner Hails Barcelona Star Lionel Messi As 'The Greatest'

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has hailed Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the greatest player in the world.

However, the Dane is also in no doubt that the Gunners can stop him working his magic when the Catalans visit the Emirates on Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League quarter final.

"To me, Messi is the greatest player in the world right now. He has got a fantastic vision of the game, and what he can do technically - it's just crazy," Bendtner said, according to The Daily Mirror.

"The things he can do with the ball - and at pace and top speed - is just amazing.

"What decides it for me is not his many goals, although his goal account is impressive, but the thing is that he can do so much for his team.

"What counts is the total amount of his many, many qualities. He is just the greatest.

"He has got such quick feet and such good dribbling skills that you simply can't take the ball away from him when he is in high speed."

"If I were a defender, I would try to make sure that he couldn't turn with the ball," said the Danish striker, who feels Arsenal can make it through to the last four.

"As soon as he has turned towards the opposition goal with the ball at his feet, he is almost impossible to stop.

"What counts in our favour is that we are playing in a different style to what Barcelona are used to in the Spanish league.

"Against us, Messi won't have the same amount of space and time to challenge and dribble with the ball, and the pace of the game in England is also higher than in Spain.

"It will be a totally different kind of game against us than Barca are used to, so even if they are probably slight favourites against us, I would say that the odds are quite even."

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