Mikel Arteta responded Xavi after Barcelona coach declared Arsenal’s play style is ‘not normal’

Mikel Arteta conceded that Arsenal’s pre-season friendly with Barcelona became too competitive after Xavi Hernandez hit out at the Gunners’ intensity.

The new Premier League season begins in just over a week, as Arsenal began their preseason with a thrilling 5-3 victory over the Spanish champions. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, and Leandro Trossard (two) scored goals at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles that were enough to defeat Barcelona.

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And even though the riveting contest may have captivated the interest of both supporters and observers, neither Arteta nor Xavi appeared to be quite happy with their evening’s work after the final whistle.

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Xavi, in particular, was less than impressed with the intensity of Arsenal; so much so that the Spaniard even branded it as “not normal”.

“I said to Mikel at the end of the game that it means a Champions League game because the intensity that they put was not normal in a friendly,” the Barcelona boss told reporters. “But I understand everybody wants to win.”

It does seem like Xavi is a little annoyed that Arsenal were pushing hard during the game

His sentiments were echoed by Arteta, who admitted that the game ended up becoming a “bit too much”. He said: “It got really competitive for a friendly match. After the first tackle and the first goal. Playing in front of 70,000 fans helps. At times I think it got a bit too much for a friendly.”

Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal’s 5-3 win over Barcelona became too intense

Arsenal fans were treated to another glimpse of summer signings Havertz and Jurrien Timber, but the Gunners’ £105million record-signing, Declan Rice, was not risked after taking a “strong kick” in training.

After spending in excess of £200m on his trio of new signings, Arteta made it clear after the match that Arsenal’s focus going forward will be trimming their 30-man squad; a figure Arteta admits is too high.

He added: “Well, we have 30 players here which is unsustainable. Obviously, the market is still open and things can happen. We are prepared. I’m really happy with the squad we have at the moment. We have improvements to make in terms of what we want to do in games and we still have to do that. Overall really pleased with the team.

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Several Arsenal players have already been mentioned in connection with transfers this summer. Folarin Balogun is in high demand after scoring 21 league goals for Reims in France last season, and Nicolas Pepe and Nuno Tavares are also expected to move on.

Kieran Tierney’s rumored departure has been downplayed by Arteta, who has stated that the Scotland international is still a part of his plans.