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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.”

• 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.”

• Erik ten Hag confident Marcus Rashford can score 40 goals in a season

  Erik ten Hag believes ever-improving Manchester United star Marcus Rashford can become a 40-goal-a-season forward.

  The 25-year-old pressed reset last summer after the most chastening year of his career, kicked off by his heart-breaking penalty shoot-out miss in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

  Post-tournament shoulder surgery kept Rashford sidelined and an initial flurry of goals on his return quickly dried up amid widespread criticism.

  But a priceless pre-season under new boss Ten Hag led to a resurgence, with Rashford scoring his 30th goal of the season in all competitions in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Chelsea.

  Rashford’s best haul saw him become the first United player to reach 30 goals since Robin van Persie a decade ago, but Ten Hag believes the best is yet to come.

  “There’s a lot of room for improvement in his game,” the United boss said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League finale against Fulham. “I’m convinced he could score even more.

  “I think when you take, for instance, the last 10 games, he didn’t score so many goals. I think only two or three.

  “So, yeah, he can improve but I am happy from where he was last season to what he did now, that he brings himself back.

  “We supported him where we could, with the way of play but also in his mental mindset, so we are happy with that.

  “But, yeah, we have to push for more and I am sure he’s capable to score 40 goals in a season, to make also for him the next step.”

  Asked if Rashford’s form takes the pressure off getting a striker in the summer, Ten Hag said: “We need across the squad more scoring abilities.

  “You can’t be dependent on one. But it can also come from this squad, but we need more scoring abilities.”

  Ten Hag has stressed the need for additions and internal improvements after a promising first season in the dugout.

  United won February’s Carabao Cup and face Manchester City in the FA Cup final after wrapping up a Champions League return with a game to spare.

  “We have to look to ourselves,” Ten Hag said about the next step. “We want to win the cup but that is for next Saturday and we have to do everything that’s in our power.

  “I think in many aspects we can improve with this group of players, with this team. I know where we have to improve. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, yes.”

  Ten Hag feels “fantastic in this club” and says Manchester feels like a home away from home, where the reaction to people he meets on the street is “absolutely positive”.

  That feedback would be even greater from the red half of the city if United can stop rivals City’s treble charge at Wembley in the FA Cup final.

  Asked if the FA Cup final was a free hit given what they have achieved already and City’s standing or a chance to send a statement, Ten Hag retorted: “Both not.

  “But when I was here one year ago, I said we wanted to win trophies. We have won one, so we want to go for the highest.

  “But that is a long, long way, it’s going to be a project. That’s not over one year. We’re talking over one to three years.

  “But when there’s an opportunity to win a trophy, for every player it’s massive.

  “I have to count but there are not so many players in our team, in our squad who have won the FA Cup. The FA Cup is huge for everyone in the world.

  “You can have won the Champions League, you can have won so many titles, but when you have the opportunity to win the FA Cup, it goes all over the world, global-wide, a huge reputation.

  “I know from the Netherlands how big the FA Cup is, so we have the opportunity to win that.

  “We are also realistic (that) it’s not going to be easy but I can assure you one thing: we will give everything that’s in our power to get the cup.”