The Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique, has denied that Gerard Piqué got himself deliberately booked in order to serve a suspension against Arsenal in the second leg and have a clean slate for a probable Champions League quarter-final in April.

After Messi scored from the penalty spot to put Barça 2-0 ahead, Piqué went to the touchline and had a quick conversation with the coach as the pair covered their mouths with their hands.

Soon after that Piqué went rushing in with a late lunge on Arsenal substitute Danny Welbeck and was booked by the Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir.

However, Luis Enrique denied any skulduggery. “No, it was not a deliberate foul by Gerard Piqué, he had to commit that foul,” he said. “There was nothing deliberate about it at all.”

The holders won the last-16 first-leg tie 2-0 with second-half goals from Lionel Messi, including a penalty, as they moved closer to becoming the first team to lift the European Cup in successive seasons since Milan in 1989 and 1990.

“I liked everything from the very beginning,” Luis Enrique said. “We had plenty of possession, we defended very well and we managed Arsenal’s transitions very well.

“They are one of the best teams in the world with their transitions, but we coped with them, kept the game level and then turned it in our favour.

“I liked everything that we did tonight and we were the deserved winners. We dealt with Arsenal’s pressure really well in the second half and my players coped perfectly the whole match.“