Former Arsenal star Denilson made 153 appearances for the club over the years, and faced some incredible players in that time.
Whilst the Brazilian’s stint at the Emirates was underwhelming overall, before he returned to Sao Paulo in 2011, he did become a key player at one point and appeared in some huge games.
He faced the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in games against Manchester United, whilst he also played alongside players such as Cesc Fabregas, and also claimed that Alexander Hleb was the most underrated of his ex-teammates.
In an interview with Arsenal Insider in partnership with Futbol Mundo, Denilson revealed who the toughest player he played against with the Gunners was, and there is little surprise about his answer.
Denilson names his toughest opponent from Arsenal days
Denilson has now revealed that the toughest opponent he faced with Arsenal was none other than Lionel Messi, when the Gunners faced Barcelona in the Champions League.
The former midfielder even highlighted a game where Messi scored four past Manuel Almunia to knock Arsenal out of the competition.
“Messi. Without a shadow of a doubt,” he stated when asked about the best players he has faced.
“In that game at Camp Nou, which they won 4-1 against us and he scored four goals, Wenger talked to us (me and Diaby) to be very careful, he said that Messi was from another planet.
“But, in that game there, I said: ‘we are going to win.’ 15 minutes into the game, the man seems to have turned into an extra-terrestrial! He did one, two, three, four. He ended the game. I have never experienced a situation like this one at the Camp Nou.”
Lionel Messi has demolished Arsenal on several occasions
Messi is one of the, if not the greatest player of all time, and Arsenal learned that the hard way on several occasions.
Denilson came up against Barcelona twice, as Arsenal drew 2-2 at the Emirates before losing 4-1 at the Camp Nou in the 2009-10 season.
The 2-2 draw saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic score twice before Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas produced a fightback, but Messi netted every single goal in the second leg and Arsenal had no answer for him.
Messi has scored nine times in six games against Arsenal, and suffered just one defeat, in the iconic game in 2011 where Andrei Arshavin netted a late winner at the Emirates.
Beyond that, Arsenal have suffered at the hands of the Argentinian a number of times, and the Camp Nou was not a fun destination for Arsene Wenger’s teams.
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