Some football clubs have one great talisman in their team. Others may have two or three superstars to rely on. But at Barcelona, there just seems to be a rotating carousel of outrageous talent who can turn games around and win matches on their own.

Lionel Messi was in imperious form several weeks ago, scoring some delightful goals and putting on the most majestic performances you are likely to see from any one footballer this season.

That seemed to have inspired Zlatan Ibrahimovic back into form. The big Swede was the hero for Barcelona last week at the Emirates when he scored two well taken goals against the north Londoners. But he is unlikely to play in the return leg after tearing a calf muscle at the weekend while warming up for the Athletic Bilbao clash.

His substitute on the night, Bojan filled in admirably – and certainly didn’t look as cumbersome – by netting two quality goals. Andres Iniesta broke London hearts last year with a last minute stunner against Chelsea in the semi-finals, and he could do so again this term, although he first has to regain full fitness and make it to the match squad. Even Pedro, who has already scored in six different club competitions in 2009 , has struck countless important goals for the Blaugrana.

But if there’s one man who can put Arsene Wenger’s young guns to the sword, as resilient and spirited as they are, it is Xavi.

Barca’s midfield maestro has already well established himself as the best midfielder in the world. As much as Arsenal fans are charmed by Cesc Fabregas, as much as Chelsea fans cherish Frank Lampard, Liverpool fans worship Steven Gerrard and Real Madrid fans believing Kaka will return to his best again one day, none can compare to Xavi.

The 30-year-olds’ qualities are world renowned and the things that he’s doing on the pitch will one day be written into every textbook and distributed to every footballing academy: his extra-terrestrial vision, his ability to weight a pass as light as a feather or as sharp as a dagger, his close control of the ball, the way he swivels past opponents to shield the ball... all of which will one day become the stuff of legend.