"He has been always a competitive animal" - Xabi Alonso hails Mikel Arteta after Arsenal's 4-1 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen boss Bayer Leverkusen has waxed lyrical of his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta for his competitive spirit. The comments came following the Gunners' 4-1 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly at the Emirates in London on Wednesday (August 7).

The hosts made a blistering start - with Oleksandr Zinchenko opening the scoring inside eight minutes before Leandro Trossard doubling their lead just a minute later.

There was more to come from the Gunners, with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz scoring either side of the break to end the game as a contest before Adam Hlozek pulled one back for Leverkusen 14 minutes from time.

Following the friendly defeat, Alonso said (as per Hayters TV) about Arteta:

“Competitive. He has been always a competitive animal. Here you can see how he has developed a great project. You could see that he wanted to win, and he was preparing for that, you know. It is a fruit of many decisions that he has taken that they reach here in Arsenal.”

The Gunners have another pre-season game to go - against Olympique Lyon on Sunday (August 11) - before beginning their new Premier League campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers six days later.

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How Arsenal have fared in pre-season so far?

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta

Arsenal opened their pre-season with a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the Heath Sports Park in Los Angeles. Fabio Vieira's 18th-minute strike was cancelled out by Antoine Semenyo 17 minutes from time before the Gunners prevailed 5-4 in the ensuing shootout.

Mikel Arteta's side then beat Manchester United 2-1 at the SoFi Stadium in LA. Rasmus Hojlund (10') opened the scoring for the Red Devils, but the Gunners pulled level through Gabriel Jesus (26') before his namesake Gabriel Martinelli bagged the winner nine minutes from time. Another shootout ensued, which United won 4-3.

Next, the Gunners took on Liverpool at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia but fell 2-1. Mohamed Salah broke the deadlock inside 13 minutes for the Reds before Fabio Carvalho doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Kai Havertz reduced arrears for the Gunners five minutes before the break, but an equaliser wasn't to be, as Arteta's side ended their US tour with a defeat.