The Arsenal boss believes the Barcelona star will eventually become unhappy playing on the wing and says the Real Madrid forward’s goals will not be helping his mood

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s great run of form for Real Madrid could leave his rival Lionel Messi increasingly demoralised at Barcelona.

The Portuguese star has scored 25 goals in all competitions so far this season as Carlo Ancelotti’s side sit two points clear at the top of the Liga table, while the Argentina captain has scored 11 for the Catalan club – less than half of his rival’s total.

Wenger says Messi will eventually becomg unhappy playing on the wing at Camp Nou and insists the goalscoring the gulf between him and former Manchester United man Ronaldo will not be helping matters.

“When Messi sees that Ronaldo has scored so many more goals than him, it will play on his morale,” he told BeIn Sport.

“On the wings, he cannot maintain his goal average. In the long term, he won’t be happy.

“The best player in the team has a power within the club. He can make the coach better if there is chemistry between them.

“So, if his position doesn’t suit him, it weakens the team as whole.”

Barcelona return to action with a crunch home clash against Sevilla next Saturday, while Madrid face a trip to play Eibar on the same day.