Wenger marvels at ´mesmerising´ Messi

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is astounded by Barcelona forward Lionel Messi’s record-breaking feats this year.

Argentine Messi netted his 86th goal of 2012 over the weekend, breaking Gerd Mueller’s 1972 record for most goals scored in a calendar year.

Frenchman Wenger said he was awestruck by Messi’s feat and sent his compliments to the 25-year-old.

“Congratulations to Messi. He is just mesmerising. What he is doing is unbelievable,” Wenger told the Arsenal website.

“Even with the biggest imagination, I would not have thought somebody would be capable of doing that.

“He makes it look so easy to score, and we are all tempted to say ‘let us walk on this pitch and score goals’, because it looks so easy when he does it. When you have played football, you know how difficult it is to score one goal.

“To think that one player can score 86 per year, if you think you play nine and a half months, it’s nearly 10 goals guaranteed per month. When you start the month, you know this boy will give you 10 goals, that is not bad.”

Messi may extend his record even further before the turn of the year, with Barcelona scheduled to play four more times before the start of 2013.