Arsenal and Barcelona faced off in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie and not surprisingly, it was the Spanish club that managed to come out on top with the triumph as the team of Luis Enrique claimed a 2-0 victory over the Premier League team.

Arsene Wenger believes that Barcelona won that match rather unfairly as they utilized tactics which influenced the decisions of the referee who made moves which benefited the Spanish club.

When the match was over, Arsenal’s Wenger said: ‘’When they go down they shout. They never go down silent. It influences the referee, every time. I don't think we have lost the game because of the referee. We have to look at ourselves. Overall the referee has no major influence on the result of a game."

The French manager did say that their defeat wasn’t solely based on the decisions that the referee made but Wenger pointed out something that the players of Barcelona have been consistently critiqued and their tendency to dive in the field after having made even just the slightest of contacts and in some cases after not even having made any kind of contact with another player at all.

Lionel Messi scored both goals of the entire match and one of them arrived through a penalty kick which was awarded to Barcelona after Mathieu Flamini had brought down the Argentine player in the penalty box. The foul from the Frenchman was a clear one as it was fairly evident that Flamini had indeed made contact with Messi which forced the superstar to drop to the grass.

There were other moments in the game when the referee seemed to be making decisions in favor of Barcelona but nonetheless, Arsenal still managed to stay in the game during the 1st half of the game but things took a turn for the worst incredibly fast after Lionel Messi opened up the scoreboard at the 71st minute and from there on out Barcelona just dominated the game.

Whilst Arsenal don't quite have the same odds that StanJames gave Shutthefrontdoor in the Gold Cup, they are rank outsiders in the tie now, and need a miracle to make it through into the next round.

Arsene Wenger and his men now have the monumental task of defeating Barcelona in Camp Nou when both sides meet for the 2nd leg on March 16.