Barcelona's Turan cheekily mocks Arsenal

Barcelona summer signing Arda Turan took a dig at Arsenal, claiming that if he hadn't performed well with Atletico Madrid, he might have joined the north London outfit instead of the Catalan giants.

"Honestly, I thought: 'If I play very well (I could) end up signing for Barca, because my style fits this team. If I (only) play well, I go to Arsenal,'" Turan told Catalan paper Diari Ara, according to FOX Sports.

"For my style, with the ball, playing easy, short, aggressive when needed, I knew I could get here to Barcelona."

Though it's uncertain why the Turkish international decided to slight Arsenal, perhaps the Gunners' dismissal from the Champions League at the hands of the Blaugrana was still fresh in his memory. Turan made a 13-minute substitute's appearance in the second leg of a 5-1 aggregate win.

Barcelona will look forward to facing Turan's former club, Atletico, in the quarter-finals of the tournament that the Catalans won a year ago.

Turan, 29, joined Barcelona from Atletico in the summer, but was unable to suit up for last season's treble winners until January because of a transfer embargo. He has since appeared in 12 La Liga matches for the table-toppers, pairing two goals with three assists.