- Xavi was dissatisfied with Arsenal’s intensity during a pre-season friendly.
- The Gunners won 5-3 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
- Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring, but a lack of pre-season minutes soon became an issue for the La Liga winners.
How Arsenal stunned Barcelona’s Xavi in a pre-season friendly victory
Barcelona manager Xavi was taken aback by Arsenal’s “intensity” during their preseason match in Los Angeles, California.
How Arsenal stunned Barcelona’s Xavi in a pre-season friendly victory
The Gunners won 5-3 in a highly exciting friendly with to goals from Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, and Leandro Trossard. But it was a friendly that threatened to erupt at times due to a massive 34 fouls, 22 of which were committed by Arsenal players.
Xavi, who guided Barcelona to the La Liga victory last season, was quick to express his displeasure with way Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal approached the game after the game.
“I told Mikel at the end of the game that the intensity they put in was like a Champions League tie.” It was out of character for a friendly, but I understand that everyone wants to win. For us, it was our first friendly, and we went in with a lot of players who had a bug.”
Arsenal 5-3 Barcelona: Pictures & talking points from pre-season friendly in Los Angeles
When asked if the game’s intensity shocked him, Xavi answered, “Not ours, but Arsenal’s, yes.” It is unusual to play with such zeal, committing tactical fouls.
“Everyone wants to compete, but it’s a friendly competition.” They were playing with a different degree of ferocity. We took it seriously, but the disparity in rhythm and match sharpness was the key reason for our defeat.”
“It was a good game for the fans but not so much for the coaches,” Xavi said of his team’s performance. It was a roller coaster ride. You could see Arsenal was further along than us [in preseason]. Having saying that, we were far too soft in defence.”
Barcelona’s next pre-season match will be a tantalising El Clasico against rivals Real Madrid on Saturday.
