There are just five days until Arsenal’s pre-season begins in earnest with our first game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night at the Singapore National Stadium. Due to the time difference it will mean that we can watch it after midnight on Thursday night (early Friday morning) so don’t get confused by the dates!
This is followed two days later at the same time (early Sunday morning), when Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain, and then the final match is between our two opponents early Tuesday morning. Anyone in the UK lucky enough to have Virgin TV will be given a free two-month trial of Premier Sports on Channel 551. The rest of us will have to check our local TV listings, android box or streaming channels to see the game in full.
We should have all our new signings travelling with the squad and hopefully we will see Lucas Torreira in an Arsenal shirt for the very first time, probably against PSG. Our veteran keeper Petr Cech reckons that a tour is a great way to get to know the new boys. “I think when you are away on tour you get to know people in a slightly different way,” Cech said on Arsenal.com. “You see them every minute of the whole day for a whole week.
“Obviously, we’ll have time to work as well because usually on a tour like that, when you train, then you have some more time in the hotel where you can use it to hold individual meetings and discussions about certain things.
“I think the coaching staff have the chance to speak to certain people as well about the way pre-season has been going, what is expected, what they would like you to improve or not to do.
“All these things are beneficial for everyone, especially for the new players as well. When you have new players coming in, you get to know all the players and get a different perspective when you spend a whole week with them in a different environment. It’s easier than to carry on during the season.”
This will be a great way to kick off our season and I can’t wait to see which teams Emery puts out, and we can then look forward to the Chelsea game in Dublin with confidence of a great season ahead….
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