Wenger Reportedly Told Walcott to “Push” Messi in Camp Nou Tunnel
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Gazeta Express
23/08/2025 9:41
Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger reportedly instructed winger theo walcott to physically impede Lionel Messi in the Camp Nou tunnel, a revelation Walcott shared on a recent podcast. Wenger, who struggled against Barcelona during his 22-year tenure with Arsenal, apparently made the request after a match, leaving Walcott unsure if it was a serious directive.
Throughout his managerial career, Wenger faced Barcelona nine times with Arsenal, securing only one victory.That win came in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in the 2009/2010 season,but Arsenal were subsequently eliminated in the return leg.
A particularly painful defeat occurred in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris, where Arsenal played with ten men for the majority of the match following the early dismissal of goalkeeper jens Lehmann. Barcelona won the final 2-1.
Messi consistently proved a thorn in Arsenal’s side, scoring nine goals in six appearances against them while playing for Barcelona. Following one of Messi’s dominant performances, wenger publicly acknowledged the Argentine as the world’s best player, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo.
The incident involving Walcott occurred after a match where Messi had once again excelled against Arsenal. According to Walcott, Wenger approached him after the game while they were near the stairs leading from the pitch to the dressing rooms at Camp Nou.
“I remember playing against him sometimes,right?” Walcott recounted on the podcast.
“The end of the game arrived and arsène Wenger found me after the game. He saw that I was talking to Lionel Messi. He told me, at the top of the stairs of the Camp Nou – I don’t know if someone has been at Camp Nou, where the players go down the stairs or have seen it on television – but he said: ‘Theo, why didn’t you push it on the stairs?'”
When questioned by podcast co-host Rebecca Lowe about the veracity of the story, Walcott affirmed, “Yes, he said it.He said it a hundred percent. I don’t know if he was serious!”
