Xavi is an interesting idea, not afraid to bring youth through. Pep, Arteta and Xavi squaring off?
what type of football does he play?
The kind that demands of his players high levels of concentration and elite decision-making to work well. There are no magical solutions here, and his midfield - on the ball - is much better than a lot of people give them credit for. In Pedri and De Jong, they have two options who can either pass or carry the ball through the lines with ease. I guess he'll be happy to work with Mainoo, but the shape of a functional midfield will probably be a struggle.
Like most "modern coaches", he values defenders who are skilled on the ball, he utilizes the newest trend of a square-shaped midfield (3223 in possession) and has a structured build-up phase the players have to follow to the letter. He values a good possession game, but he will not say no to a killer transition. As mentioned, it's about good decision-making. He would probably send our current gung-ho style straight to the bin. Possession is a means to control the rhythm, but not the purpose of his whole existence. Nevertheless, he seems a big fan of "La Pausa", the Spanish style of passing that encourages players to slow down, keep the ball, assess and then make an informed decision. Good luck to him trying to do that with our current lot. Likes to create isos in the wide areas or overload one side (the left at Barça) with the FB on the overlap and the wide player cutting inside to quickly switch sides. That is something we used to do under Mourinho and Solskjaer. The press is high, intense and aggressive but more organized than ETH's more man-to-man oriented tactics. Oh, and the square in the midfield means that the rest defence will have a double pivot, which will make the Caf happy.
I also read somewhere that, since coaches started to get booked and sent off, he has more red cards as a manager (3) in two seasons than in his entire career as a footballer (2). So, there's also plenty of passion in the coach's area on the pitch.