Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has complained of the intensity shown by his opponents during their preseason friendly defeat to Arsenal.
The Blaugrana were put to the sword in a 5-3 loss to the Gunners in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, suffering a lack of intensity themselves. He felt that Arsenal crossed the line though.
“I told Mikel [Arteta] at the end of the game that it was a Champions League game. The intensity they put in was not normal for a friendly. For us it was only the first game, also after having a virus. It was really difficult for us,” Xavi explained to Relevo.
“Our intensity didn’t surprise me. Theirs did. So many tactical fouls… It’s not normal. Everyone wants to compete, but it’s a friendly. They are at another level of intensity, physicality. I’m generally happy, we’ve seen positive things, our conclusions are positive.”
He softened his stance later, saying that he was pleased with Barcelona’s performance all the same.
“Arsenal deserved the victory. The main reason is the difference in pace and intensity. We’ve been good. Happy, apart from the result. The playing out from the back has been good, we’ve dominated the midfield at many points… On a defensive level we’ve been soft. The virus is no excuse.”
Overall, Xavi finished with kind words for Arteta, despite his earlier frustration.
“We have a similar career. Arteta changed clubs, he loves Arsenal. He’s very competitive, I respect him a lot. I wish him the best. I don’t know him too well because we haven’t met, but our coaching career has been similar, yes. Our style is very similar.”
Few will feel sympathy for Xavi in this case, and there is no doubt that Arsenal are likely to be much closer to full fitness, being Barcelona’s first friendly of the preseason.
There is an argument that if anything, Barcelona are more likely to get up to speed faster if they are subjected to more difficult preseason challenges too, but clearly Xavi did not feel that way.