Arsenal secured the Barclays Asia Trophy with a 3-1 win over Everton on Saturday, with the Gunners winning the competition for the first time. Six different clubs have held the Asia Trophy, with Chelsea being the only club to have won it twice.
Many of the previous winners of the trophy have gone on to have successful seasons themselves, both domestically and in some cases continentally. So will history show that the Asia Trophy is a right of passage for potential champions?
If Arsenal win the league title they will repeat the feat of the previous Asia Trophy champions
Only one team have won the Asia Trophy and then go on to win the Premier League title, Manchester City did it in 2013-14. They beat Sunderland in the final of the pre-season completion, who they also beat in the League Cup final the same season. City didn't exactly stroll to the title, with Arsenal leading the league for 128 days and then Liverpool throwing away a late title challenge to give the Manchester club a second title in three years.
Playing Premier League opposition in pre-season was obviously helpful for them, Manchester City also faced Arsenal in a friendly that year. The Asia Trophy began arguably Manchester City's most successful ever season, where they won two trophies in the debut season of new manager Manuel Pellergrini.
Despite the Citizens amazing feat in 2013-14, the best performance from an Asia Trophy winner came from a team wearing a different shade of blue
Manchester City's 2013-14 season was hugely successful after winning the Asia Trophy, but the winners of the tournament before that arguably had a more successful season after their win in the Far East. Despite starting very poorly under new manager Andre Villas Boas, a mid-season change of manager saw a change of fortune for Arsenal's London rivals, Chelsea. The season was a failure in the league, with a sixth place finish being nowhere near good enough from a club of Chelsea's stature.
Despite the poor league performance, the 2011-12 season is the most successful in Chelsea's history. Another FA Cup win and then a historic Champions League win in Munich against Bayern made it a very memorable season for Chelsea fans despite the forgettable start. The Asia Trophy win was part of the forgettable start but success in pre-season shouldn't be forgotten when looking at the most successful season in the history of the West London club.
Portsmouth began and ended the 2007-08 season with trophies
No other team have reached the successes of Chelsea or Manchester City, and only one other team have won a trophy after a win in the Asia Trophy. That team is Portsmouth, who shocked Liverpool on penalties in the final of the Asia Trophy in 2007. It was a penalty that defined their road to another trophy, with Sully Muntari's penalty at Old Trafford spurring Pompey a place in a FA Cup semi-final. The big spenders went on to win the trophy, beating Cardiff City in the final.
The success wasn't to last for Portsmouth though, they entered administration twice and were relegated three times in the five years after their second ever FA Cup victory. The Asia Trophy kicked off a memorable season for Portsmouth and their fans, one of the few happy memories their fans must now have of their team.
Chelsea were inurgral Asia Trophy winners but they failed to win anything else
If trophies account for success then Chelsea, Manchester City and Portsmouth are the only teams that can be seen as having a successful season post winning the Asia Trophy. Aside from winning trophies, other teams have had successful seasons after winning the Asia Trophy. Chelsea won the inaugural Asia Trophy in 2003 but they lost the league title that season, to arguably the best team ever to grace English football Arsenal's Invincibles.
Under the current Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, Chelsea finished second in the Premier League and looked favourites to win the Champions League, but they lost in the semi finals to eventual runners up Monaco. Off the pitch, the 2003-04 season saw Roman Abramovich buy the club, and begin to heavily invest in the Blues. They went on to win the title the season after under new manager Jose Mourinho
The other two Asia Trophy winners had successful season in the eyes of their fans, but neither achievement alone would be enough for Arsenal fans this season
Also, Arsenal's North London rivals Spurs won the Asia Trophy in 2009, beating Hull in the final. They went on to have their most successful season in recent history, with a rare top four finish and Champions League qualification constituting as success for the Lilywhites. They have yet to hit those heights again, but the Asia Trophy did begin a successful season for them.
Bolton are the only other team to win the Asia Trophy and their 2005-06 season looked to continue in the success of pre season, but talk of Sam Allardyce taking the England job ended their fortunes and a second European finish in a row eluded them.
The Asia Trophy seems to breed success, with three out of the six previous winners going on to win other trophies. The success may not also be trophies, but it may be relative success for the club such as a Champions League finish. Whether this friendly tournament will begin a successful season for Arsenal is unknown, what is known is that Arsenal have prepared for the season ahead with an already successful pre-season.