Ilkay Gundogan has called for patience from Barcelona fans after their pre-season friendly defeat to Arsenal in Los Angeles, California.
Gundogan recently joined Barca on a two-year deal, with the option for a further year, after leaving Manchester City as a free agent after a treble-winning season at the Etihad Stadium.
In his first game in the Barcelona colours, the midfielder was part of a side who were thoroughly beaten by Arsenal, losing 5-3 at SoFi Stadium thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira and a brace from Leandro Trossard.
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Speaking after the defeat to Sport, Gundogan admitted that he is still adapting to Barcelona's system after spending the last seven years of his career at Man City: “I have to adapt to my teammates and they to me.”
“I know the position I have played in, but everything is new. I have to adapt to my teammates and they have to adapt to me. We have to get to know the automatisms. We have a very clear idea of the football we want to play. I think the most important thing now is to be patient. The structure is not 100 percent fixed. Everyone knows where we want to go.
"I’m very happy. Obviously, we could have played better, but I think we competed against a great opponent. We can do better, we made some unforced errors, but it was the first friendly of the pre-season,”
Barca and Gundogan will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Arsenal in their next pre-season game: an El Clasico clash with Real Madrid on 29th July.
This article was originally published on 90min as Ilkay Gundogan calls for patience from Barcelona fans.
