The former striker was suspended for Arsenal's 1994 Cup Winners' Cup final and thinks that the Barcelona centre-back was ensuring that he would be available for the quarter-finals
Gerard Pique will miss the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League last-16 encounter with Arsenal after picking up a yellow card and suspension in their 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium - but did the centre-back get himself booked on purpose?
With Barca already two away goals ahead in the tie, television cameras caught Pique in a brief conversation with coach Luis Enrique.
Moments later - with just five minutes of normal time to play - the defender brought down Danny Welbeck with a late sliding tackle and was shown a yellow card by referee Cuneyt Cakir.
Luis Enrique denied that the booking was orchestrated to ensure that Pique is available for a potential quarter-final tie.
"It wasn't deliberate," he told reporters. "If you see the foul, he had to do that."
But Ian Wright, who himself missed Arsenal's 1994 Uefa Cup Winners' Cup final victory against Parma after being suspended against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the semi-final, said that Pique had to pick up the booking to be ready for the last eight, with Barca holding a strong advantage over the Gunners.
Asked on BT Sport if he thought that Pique intentionally picked up a yellow card, Wright replied: "I think so yeah. He misses the next leg and he's clear and free for the game afterwards.
"You've got to do it, I think. Look at how Pique plays for them; he is absolutely brilliant for them. In the latter stages of this, he has got to be there."
- Goal