Mikel Arteta hits back at Xavi complaints following heated Arsenal vs Barcelona clash

Mikel Arteta played down Xavi's complaints regarding Arsenal's physicality following the Gunners' 5-3 friendly win over Barcelona

Mikel Arteta has hit back at Xavi after the Barcelona boss voices his concerns regarding Arsenal's intensity during their overnight friendly match.

The Gunners secured a 5-3 victory in a hugely-entertaining game in Los Angeles. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka quickly fired back to make the score 1-1, with the Hale End academy graduate then missing a penalty shortly after.

Raphinha then restored the lead for the Blaugrana via a deflected free-kick before Kai Havertz levelled things back up with a close-range finish right before half-time. Leandro Trossard's brace after the break gave the north Londoners a 4-2 advantage as Ferran Torres' late finish proved to be merely a consolation when Fabio Vieira wrapped the scoring up in the 89th minute.

It was a physical game at the SoFi Stadium, something that Barcelona boss Xavi admitted he told Arteta he was less than impressed with. "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 former Spanish international said in his post-match press conference.

"But I understand everybody wants to win. It was the first game for us and after we passed a virus."

He added: "Our intensity didn’t surprise me, their’s did. It’s normal for it to be so intense and for their to be so many injuries and yellow cards. They were at a very high level of intensity and rhythm that we weren’t expecting."

But Arteta was unapologetic for his side's physical approach, backing his players for the intensity they displayed. "At the end of the day, soccer belongs to the players", he said regarding Xavi's comments.

"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."

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