Arsenal travelled to Singapore this week in preparation of the upcoming Premier League season, hoping to increase team morale and match fitness from their annual tour of Asia.
Their first challenge comes in the form of a Singapore Selection XI, a squad assembled both from the national team and those who ply their trade in the domestic league.
The North London outfit took part in an open training session at the National Stadium on Tuesday, receiving a rapturous ovation from the hundreds of fans within the ground, as part of the attempts to increase their brand across the globe. The Arsenal players will be the main attraction at the Barclays Asia Trophy, a pre-season competition founded in 2003, alongside Everton and Stoke City.
The Gunners’ first fixture comes against the aforementioned Singapore team and, depending on whether the English giants come out victorious, will take part in the third place play-off or the final on Saturday evening. Arsene Wenger’s men will then travel back to North London to host the annual Emirates Cup before the new season gets underway with the Community Shield encounter with Chelsea at Wembley.
This will be the club’s first appearance in the tournament that takes place every two years, with Arsenal hoping that performances during the competition can help push for a third successive season ending in silverware. The signs are good in that case with the both Chelsea and Manchester City both winning the Premier League title following a triumph in this pre-season event, Chelsea also having won the Champions League in the season proceeding their 2011 win over Aston Villa.
A mixture of youth and experience have traveled to Singapore
The FA Cup holders have certainly brought a squad that will certainly challenge for the trophy they are favourites for. New signing Petr Cech has traveled with a squad that includes the likes of Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey as they look to make a sizable impression on their Asian counterparts.
The squad also includes a number of youngsters, something seemingly customary when Arsenal embark on these summer adventures, with some established and others yet to make a competitive first team appearance.
Daniel Crowley, Alex Iwobi, newboy Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chris Willock have all impressed at various levels of the youth set-up last season but are yet to land an opportunity to play alongside some of the Premier League’s greatest talents. The former is regarded to be the club’s finest young star and has been likened to academy graduate Jack Wilshere after his arrival from Aston Villa. Chuba Akpom and Gedion Zelalem, also on the tour, will dispute this accolade having made senior appearances in the past.
Alexis Sanchez and David Ospina have not traveled with the team due to their commitments in the Copa America, neither has Carl Jenkinson due to his second successive loan to West Ham United taking place on Tuesday afternoon.
Serge Gnabry’s decision to take part in Germany’s bid to win the European under-21 Championships means he also requires a period of rest, while Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck miss out through injury. Mathieu Debuchy and club captain Mikel Arteta could feature as they near full fitness following injuries that kept them on the sidelines for the majority of the campaign.
Their opponents, and this year’s hosts, may pose a stronger threat than previous teams the Gunners have faced in recent times. Arsenal scored 19 times during their tour of the continent in just four games during 2013, playing an Indonesian Dream Team and Vietnam’s national side as part of their pre-season schedule. Due to the World Cup taking place last year, this will be the Gunners first visit in two years and will provide sterner tests.
Singapore’s hopes of causing an upset are slim but history shows that it can be done against the visitors, with Hangzhou Greentown of China and Kitchee of Hong Kong holding Arsenal to draws in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The Select XI have an admirable record in their two year history, keeping Atletico Madrid’s tally down to just two in their opening match before losing 5-0 to Serie A champions Juventus a year later.
Varadaraju Sundramoorthy, manager of the team and one of the most gifted players in the country’s history, has selected 19 national team players and four S.League representatives in his 23 man squad. Of those four additions, Argentine Nicolas Velez is the one to watch due to his scintillating form since joining Warriors FC in 2014, scoring 28 goals in 35 league games as his side went onto win the league title in 2014 and the Singapore Charity Shield a few months later.
How will the Singapore side line-up?
Izwan Mahbud is expected to start in goal follow his two successive clean sheets, with the experienced Baihakki Khaizan and Safuwan Baharudin likely to start as the centre-back pairing. The former has an impressive 111 caps to his name while his countryman has hit the 40 mark despite being just 23, the Melbourne City loanee also scoring twice in the thrashing of Cambodia. Shaiful Esah will be hoping for a start at left-back, while long throw specialist Madhu Mohana should start on the opposing flank.
The midfield poses as the biggest weakness to the team, an area where Arsenal could seize the advantage with the abundance of quality they possess in the middle of the park. Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain could dominate with their possession based style of play against what could be a three man midfield from the Singaporeans. Shahdan Sulaiman, Zulfahmi Arifin and Yasir Hanapi are all in contention for a start.
Nicolas Velez’s fine season will warrant a start up front, assumingly beside captain Shahril Ishak or Khairul Amri up top. Although Frenchman Sirina Camara could rival the duo for a place in the team. Ishak has 120 caps to his name and is just eight behind all the record set by Daniel Bennett in 2012, with Brazilian Rodrigo Tosi potentially having to settle for a place on the bench.
Singapore’s national side are in fine form going into the Barclays Asia Trophy, beating Cambodia 4-0 and notching up a credible scoreless draw with Japan during World Cup qualification to put them top of their group. They are now unbeaten in fives games with friendly wins against Brunei and Bangladesh following a draw with Guam.
Their manager told Singapore’s Football Association's official website: “Most of the national team players in my squad are also young and still developing, so this big opportunity for them to perform, and to express themselves in front of a big home crowd will not only be a huge source of motivation for them, but will also benefit Singapore football and the national team.
“The Singapore players will be entering the Barclays Asia Trophy with confidence especially after the 0-0 draw with Japan. And if they perform well in the two matches, it will give them another good boost as for our next World Cup qualifying match against Syria in September.”
Arsene Wenger has hinted that fringe players could start while referencing his time in Asia during an interview with Arsenal’s official website. The French boss said: “It is a good opportunity for me to give a chance to players who are on the fringe of the team and to see how close they are to contributing. That can influence my decisions before the transfer market is over."
“I have a good experience because I worked in Asia,” Said the Arsenal manager. “I know that usually these teams will be focused, they know that they play Arsenal and they prepare for this game for a long time.
“Usually what you face in Asia is very mobile teams, very quick teams and teams that are very disciplined so expect that kind of team on Wednesday. We have had some difficult experiences in Asia and because we are in the preparation as well you expect to suffer a little bit tomorrow.”
Prediction: Singapore Selection XI 0-5 Arsenal
