Arsenal secured a thumping 5-3 win over Barcelona in their pre-season friendly fixture at the SoFi Stadium yesterday.
The Gunners suffered a heavy defeat against Manchester United in their previous fixture in the United States, but they have bounced back with a stellar win.
Barca drew first blood when talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski scored following a brilliant run on the left flank by Moroccan winger Ez Abde.
Bukayo Saka swiftly netted the equaliser, taking advantage of Andreas Christensen’s defensive gaffe.
Barca restored the lead again around the 35th-minute mark when Raphinha’s free-kick hit the net after a huge deflection.
However, the Catalan club’s backline was continuously tested by Arsenal’s attack. Saka proved too hot to handle as he bamboozled Barca left-back Marcos Alonso with his mazy dribbling.
One such moment led to the Gunners’ equaliser. Saka made a tremendous run on the right-hand side before whipping in a cross to Martin Odegard, who eventually set up Kai Havertz’s strike.
Havertz has hit the ground running with the Gunners, having scored in the game against MLS All-Stars last week.
The introduction of Ousmane Dembele in the second half gave Barca a different energy, but his lack of productivity in the final third proved to be a stumbling block.
The Gunners pressed on with their attacking intent and added two more goals to go 4-2 up, courtesy of a brilliant brace from Leandro Trossard.
The goals were of the highest quality as he completely left Barca’s defence and goalkeeper Inaki Pena for dead.
Ferran Torres scored Barca’s third of the night in the 88th minute, assisted by Dembele, to bring Xavi’s men back into the game.
However, their hopes were quelled when Fabio Vieira scored to put the game to bed.
The Gunners will bid to continue their momentum against AS Monaco in the Emirates Cup final before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Barca will look to shake off their rustiness when they face Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday.
