I have to say that Messi is by far the best player I've ever seen live, in terms of both sheer wow factor and how he is able to change games. And it isn't just goals. He presses more than any forward I've seen (except maybe the criminally underrated Eto'o) and he passes the ball almost as well as Iniesta. For those of you who don't watch Barca every week, his real strength is that he can be a danger from just about anywhere on the pitch: he can pick up the ball deep where he can develop play with the midfield, he can prowl outside the box (as in his second at the Nou Camp), he can attack from the wing, and he has the pace to break past defenders. At the Emirates, he had more completed passes than any Arsenal player (no, I didn't look up the stat, but that's what Sid Lowe said).
My criticisms of him are minor, and in a way, compliments:
He doesn't pass the ball long as well as, say, Xabi Alonso. Though I have seen him spread play effectively by coming inside and playing 40+ yard passes to Abidal/Maxwell on the opposite flank.
His heading is surprisingly good, but I've seen the ball whizz inches over his head simply because he was too short to get it.
His set plays are not quite as strong as the rest of his game. True, he has scored some freekicks, but largely through trickery rather than sheer brilliance. In this respect he's some way behind Maradona, Ronaldinho, and even Henry.
Finally, while he can change games leading by example, he can't take his team by the scruff of the neck in the same way Maradona and Zidane did. He's not a big talker, not a natural leader in the sense that Keane, Puyol, and Cruijff could be.
No player is complete, though, and what we see in Messi is something truly special. Even if he retired tomorrow, he'd still go down as one of the most talented players in history. At the moment he's the spice in a very, very good Barcelona team.
