Xavi ´expected more´ from Arsenal

Barcelona playmaker Xavi offered a blunt assessment of Arsenal following his side’s 4-3 aggregate victory in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Leading 2-1 heading into the round-of-16 second-leg match at the Nou Camp, Arsene Wenger’s side failed to register a single shot on goal in the match, with an own goal from Sergio Busquets their only moment of joy in a 3-1 defeat.

Stand-in captain Xavi got his name on the scoresheet for the La Liga outfit as did Argentinean ace Lionel Messi, who opened the scoring just before half-time with an exquisite chip before wrapping the fixture up with a second from the penalty spot.

Xavi said the English Premier League club showed little attacking intent in the game, and claimed he had expected more from them.

The game swung in the 56th minute as Dutch striker Robin van Persie was ordered off for a second caution when he fired a shot on goal moments after the referee had blown the whistle for offside – a ruling that incensed Wenger.

Xavi, however, feels the decision to dismiss van Persie was warranted.

“Arsenal really didn’t want to play football. All they cared about was defending. The red card did affect the game, but the decision was right in my opinion,” the Spain midfielder said.

“This is a fair result – we were the superior team both in the away game and at home. There’s justice in football. They had clearly come here to defend. They didn’t even have one single shot on goal. I expected a lot more from them to be honest.”

“(Javier) Mascherano and (Sergio) Busquets are simply amazing for the team, while Leo (Messi) once again stepped up to make the difference.”

“The only thing that could have been better was our finishing. We should have scored more and we suffered too much. We could have killed the game a lot sooner.”

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the loss after his careless backheel in first-half stoppage time led to Messi’s opener.

Fabregas took to his Twitter page to express his remorse.

“Great support from the Arsenal fans. I take full blame for the result tonight,” Fabregas wrote.

“One of the worst moments of my life. I apologise.”