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Kai Havertz has reacted to Arsenal's 5-3 pre-season friendly win against Barcelona earlier today (27 July) at the SoFi Stadium in California.
Barca took the lead in the seventh minute through Robert Lewandowski before Bukayo Saka equalised in the 13th minute. Raphinha put his team in front before Havertz reacted instinctively to turn in Martin Odegaard's header inside the box before half-time.
The German international was taken off for the second half in place of Emile Smith Rowe. Two goals from Leandro Trossard handed the Gunners a comfortable lead towards the end of the game.
Ferran Torres' 88th-minute strike offered Barcelona hope of a comeback but it was dashed a minute later when Fabio Vieira's long-range screamer restored his team's two-goal lead. After the game, Havertz took to Twitter to post a picture of him celebrating his goal against Barca.
The former Chelsea playmaker captioned it:
"US Tour finished up with a strong win 💪🏼 Thank you for all the great support everywhere we visited."
The Gunners started their tour of the USA with a 5-0 win against MLS All-Stars on 20 July but lost 2-0 to Manchester United three days later. The win against Barcelona concludes their tour of the North American nation this summer.
Havertz, who signed for Arsenal from Chelsea last month for £65 million, featured in all three games and scored twice. He has been deployed by Mikel Arteta in central midfield as compared to the No. 9 role he played at Chelsea in recent seasons.
Mikel Arteta gives verdict on Arsenal's friendly win against Barcelona
Mikel Arteta was asked to give his two cents on Arsenal's goal-laden clash against Barcelona.
The Spanish tactician commented that the game got too competitive for a pre-season friendly and said, via the Guardian:
"It got really competitive for a friendly match – after the first tackle, after the first goal. Obviously, in front of 70,000 fans it helps to create an atmosphere. They are elite players, and all want to win, and at the end it got a bit too much at times for a friendly to be fair."
Arteta would be happy that his players have found the intensity at the right time. They play AS Monaco in the Emirates Cup on 2 August before taking on Manchester City four days later in the FA Community Shield.
Their Premier League season starts with a home game against Nottingham Forest on 12 August. Barcelona, meanwhile, prepare for a friendly El Clasico against Real Madrid in Texas on 30 July.
They take on AC Milan in a friendly on 2 August in Nevada, which will conclude their pre-season tour of the USA.
