Arteta explains why Arsenal players did not listen to him in win over Barcelona

Arsenal rounded off their USA pre-season tour with a physical victory over Barcelona in Los Angeles in the early hours of Thursday morning with Leandro Trossard scoring twice

"They are elite players and they all want to win. But at the end, I think it got a bit too much for a friendly, but I think the show that we put in for all the people that came to watch was really good."

Four yellow cards were shown during the match - three for Arsenal and one for Barcelona, and Arteta admitted his players did not listen to him when it came to the physical nature of the game. He explained why, saying: "At the end of the day, soccer belongs to the players.

"We’re playing in front of 70,000 people and as soon as the game starts they’ll rebel against the coaches as soon as the game starts and they’ll do what they want. As soon as there’s the first foul of the game they’ll start getting intense and they’ll start playing."

Arsenal will return home from the USA with a friendly against Monaco on Wednesday before the Community Shield vs Manchester City on August 6. The Premier League season then begins a week later.