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• On This Day in 2011: Lionel Messi stars as Barcelona win Champions League

  Lionel Messi produced a Wembley masterclass as Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 in the Champions League final on this day in 2011 to become European champions for a fourth time.

  Pep Guardiola won his second Champions League as Barca head coach in three years after a dominant performance from his side.

  They reached the final after defeating El Clasico rivals Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate in the last four, with United sweeping aside Schalke 6-1 in their semi-final.

  Guardiola’s side outplayed United in the first half, enjoying 68 per cent possession and having 22 shots, but were still level at half-time as Pedro’s opener was cancelled out by Wayne Rooney, who side-footed home from 15 yards after a one-two with Ryan Giggs.

  Barca’s dominance continued after the break with Messi, who moments earlier had seen a shot cleared off the line by Patrice Evra, firing in a low shot from 25 yards.

  Messi’s dribbling then caused panic in the United defence and David Villa capitalised to whip a shot into the top corner from just outside the penalty area and secure Barcelona’s third Champions League title in six years.

  Eric Abidal, who had undergone surgery only two months earlier to remove a tumour in his liver, was given the honour of wearing the captain’s armband during the presentation ceremony and he was the first player to lift the trophy.

  After the match Guardiola hailed Messi as “the best player I have ever seen”, while United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: “In my time as manager it is the best team we have faced.”

• I am on my phone all the time – David Moyes finds it difficult to switch off

  David Moyes admits he finds it impossible to switch off during the close-season.

  The West Ham boss is resigned to losing captain Declan Rice this summer and will be inundated with calls from agents suggesting replacements.

  “I am the exact opposite of switching off, I am on my phone all the time, there’s recruitment and things going on,” said Moyes.

  “When you talk about the job as a manager, it is so full on. I am sure there are some managers who say ‘no problem and I’ll put my phone away’. I have never been like that, I am always on my phone and available.

  “I am getting 400 different names put to me every day, a lot of them you don’t know, some of them you do know and some of them you go, ‘I quite like him’.

  “When you are doing nothing, the agents start to get busy and that’s when it becomes a difficult time as a manager to switch off.”

  Moyes can at least relax in the knowledge West Ham are safe from relegation ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leicester, who are still in the drop zone.

  The Hammers also have a Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague to look forward to next month.

  “I hope to be playing plenty of golf, just trying to recover as it’s been a real difficult year for the club and myself,” added Moyes.

  “I think we’ve been a good side, but we’ve maybe not shown that we are a good side that often this year.

  “But I just see it as a huge achievement for the whole of West Ham as a football club, to be in a European final.

  “I don’t know if I would have said this when I came back to the club three years ago, you wouldn’t have believed me at all. The supporters were probably thinking that as well. If I wasn’t at West Ham, I would have said ‘you’re off your head’.

  “Maybe the draw in Europe has been a bit kinder to us – but that’s part of being in the cup competitions.”

• Mikel Arteta: Timing of injuries at Arsenal ultimately cost Premier League title

  Mikel Arteta believes the timing of injuries that hit his squad late in the season ultimately cost Arsenal in their bid to hold off Manchester City and win the Premier League.

  The team’s collapse largely coincided with a back injury sustained by defender William Saliba during their Europa League exit to Sporting Lisbon in March, with stand-in centre-back Rob Holding struggling to match the standard set by his team-mate.

  Arsenal were also without strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu and midfielder Mohamed Elneny for large parts of the season as they were eventually chased down by City despite leading the table for 248 days.

  It hands the club the unwanted record of the most number of days spent top of the league without becoming champions.

  Collecting just nine points from their last eight games extinguished the challenge from Arteta’s side, but the manager pointed to three draws in April – away at Liverpool and West Ham and at home to bottom-side Southampton – as the period where critical damage was done to their title hopes.

  The Gunners threw away two-goal leads at Anfield and the London Stadium before gifting Saints a 3-1 lead at the Emirates, from which they could not recover to win.

  Arteta felt his team should have beaten all three opponents in spite of Saliba’s absence, but noted that the title was usually won by sides that did not suffer the bad luck with injuries that hit Arsenal this season.

  “There were a few things (that caused the collapse) because we could have won at least three of the games that we drew without Willy and two of them really comfortably,” said Arteta. “But we didn’t.

  “We had some critical moments where we didn’t maximise the opportunity that we had in front of us. You have to arrive at this stage with 24 fit players in the best condition, ready to go.

  “It happened last season. In the last stages we lost three or four key players and it’s happened this season.

  “It’s a big lesson, because when you look who wins and how doesn’t win, they have the 24 of them with the knife in the teeth, ready to go physically and mentally, all going for it and they can have real momentum. We didn’t have that again.

  “Timing is everything. Moments define the season in your own way and for opponents. That’s dictated by many, many, many factors and you have to acknowledge that. There are certain things you don’t control and certain other things not.

  “We fail in certain (moments) in our control, but I’m sure there are things we could have done different or better.”

  Arteta was asked whether he feared for Arsenal’s prospects of challenging again next season, given the difficulties that Liverpool have endured this campaign after pushing City to the final day last May.

  Jurgen Klopp’s team have failed to make the top four despite finishing a point behind the champions last season after a pulsating title race.

  As well as the loss of key players and feeling the impact of an ageing team, it had been suggested that there had been a mental hangover at Anfield from last year’s pursuit of Pep Guardiola’s side.

  “Whatever we do now in the last game and what we’ve done in the last week is just to build into what is going to happen afterwards,” said Arteta.

  “Painting a very clear picture of where we want to go and who wants to be part of that journey.”

  The manager also reiterated his commitment to the club after a year in which his personal stock has risen greatly.

  He added: “I am very happy here, I’m very happy with my contract. Let’s move on and let’s have a great season again.”