"No Havertz fail comp today" "Balde leaves me speechless" - Twitter erupts as Arsenal record convincing 5-3 win against Barcelona

By Silas Sud

Modified Jul 27, 2023 08:03 GMT

Twitter erupted after Arsenal defeated Barcelona 5-3

Fans on Twitter reacted after Arsenal emphatically defeated Barcelona 5-3 in a pre-season friendly yesterday at the SoFi Stadium (July 26).

Arsenal continued their pre-season tour in the United States in style. This was their fifth friendly of the month, having drawn against Watford and FC Nurnberg 1-1 each. They also beat MLS All-Stars 5-0 and most recently lost 2-0 to Manchester United.

This clash was Barcelona's first of their pre-season and the rustiness was apparent to the eye. Robert Lewandowski gave the Blaugrana the lead in the seventh minute but Bukayo Saka levelled the score six minutes later.

Raphinha once again gave Barcelona the lead in the 34th minute via a deflected free-kick after Saka missed a penalty in the 21st minute. However, the score was 2-2 going into half-time following Kai Havertz's toe-poke in the 43rd minute.

Arsenal were dominant in the second-half with Leandro Trossard scoring a brilliant brace in the 55th and 78th minutes. The Blaugrana were unfortunate to hit the woodwork twice but pulled one back via a Ferran Torres goal in the 88th minute. Fabio Vieira scored a long-range stunner just one minute later to secure a 5-3 victory for the Gunners.

Twitter exploded as fans from both teams reacted to the high-scoring game. Arsenal fans were upbeat over their performance and squad depth:

"This preseason players like Smith Rowe, Nelson, Vieira, Timber, Tierney showed their worth. Even when Rice isn’t playing Partey is a brilliant backup. Zinny not playing, no problem. The depth has suddenly become ridiculously good. Really have high hopes for us this season."

Barcelona fans bemoaned their players' performances, particularly Alejandro Balde:

"This Balde guy bro tie his ass up and get him on the flight back to London"

Other fan reactions can be viewed below:

Mikel Arteta and Co. next face Monaco in the Emirates Cup final on August 2, while the Blaugrana play Real Madrid on July 29.

Arsenal vs Barcelona: Exploring the statistics in pre-season friendly clash

Arsenal may have defeated Barcelona in a closely-contested clash 5-3 yesterday but let's take a look at the statistics to see how both teams actually performed.

Despite Xavi Hernandez and Co. enjoying more control of the ball with 60% possession, compared to the Gunners' 40%, it was the latter who dominated in attack.

The north London outfit had 20 shots in total in contrast to the Blaugrana's nine. Furthermore, Mikel Arteta's side registered nine shots on target compared to Catalonia's four.

The 2022-23 La Liga champions completed 422 passes (with 86% accuracy) compared to Arsenal's 285 (with 82% accuracy) but were not clinical enough to get back into the game.