Barcelona vs Arsenal: Araujo Escapes Red After Tackle on Gabriel Jesus

• Ronald Araujo escaped not getting booked for his rough tackle on Gabriel Jesus
• The two featured for Barcelona and Arsenal respectively in a pre-season friendly
• The Premier League side bagged an impressive 5-3 victory over the La Liga giants

Ronald Araujo has been slammed for his harsh tackle on Gabriel Jesus during Barcelona’s pre-season friendly tie against Arsenal on Wednesday night in the United States.

The Gunners had an impressive win against the reigning La Liga champions after a 5-3 victory, but the Uruguayan defender hogged the headlines for the wrong reasons during the encounter.

Per the BBC, Araujo was lucky not to be sent off in the tie after he hacked Jesus to the floor in one of the harshest tackles of the game, which infuriated some Arsenal fans.

With the Gunners' forward running down the Barcelona flank, the Barca defender - in a bid to win back the ball - unleashed a reckless tackle but fortunately for him, the referee blew to his advantage.

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Arsenal would go on to win the encounter, coming from 2-1 down to eventually win 5-3 thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, and Kai Havertz.

Barca lose pre-season opener

Meanwhile, Barcelona's preparations for the 2023-24 season began in defeat against Arsenal in their pre-season opener at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, SB Nation reports.

Robert Lewandowski gave La Blaugrana the lead thanks to an easy tap-in after Raphinha forced a save from Aaron Ramsdale, but Bukayo Saka would equalise six minutes later for the Gunners.

Raphinha restored Barca’s lead but two goals from Leandro Trossard and one from Kai Havertz helped Arsenal turn the game around before further goals from Ferran Torres and Fabio Viera.

Barcelona, Juventus friendly called off

In news related to the pre-season, Sports Brief reported on the friendly between Barcelona and Juventus being called off after a bout of illness in the Catalans' squad.

The match was meant to be the first of four fixtures of Barca's tour of the United States, with La Blaugrana still set to face Real Madrid on July 29 and AC Milan on August 2.