'He's a competitive animal!' - Xabi Alonso lauds Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after Arsenal thrash his Bayer Leverkusen side in pre-season friendly

Alonso saw his Leverkusen side thumped by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, as goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz earned Arteta's men a 4-1 win.

The win was made all the more impressive by Leverkusen's monumental achievements last season, as Alonso oversaw Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal triumphs, unbeaten, and also guided the club to the Europa League final. Now, he has hailed the ability of his fellow Spaniard.

Alonso told reporters: “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.”

Arsenal play Lyon in the Emirates Cup this weekend and then face Wolves in their opening Premier League game on August 17.