Talking ahead of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia, Theo Walcott admitted recently that he is concerned about the trip, and how it could backfire on the squad in the long run.
The England international said:
‘In previous years we only went to Austria and Holland as well so it didn’t take too much out of you. It will hit you at some stage but we have just got to get used to that. It is still a long way until the season starts so we should recover by the time that comes.’
Granted, it is a long trip and is not an ideal one so close to the start of the new season. However, I think because we will still have over a month before the new season starts it won’t have that much affect on the team. But, if it was slightly later in the month, then it could of certainly had the potential to backfire on us. I believe because Arsenal are away earlier than usual on tour, and it is for a shorter period of time, the recovery stage will not be that bad, despite potential jet-lag. Still, they should have enough time to recover before our first Premier League outing.
We have to remember that these pre-season tours are to get our players back into shape, and although Gervinho has missed out on the tour due to a delay in him attaining a work permit, it is a way to get the squad playing as one again, and in my personal opinion, I’m glad to see Samir Nasri has made the trip, purely because it keeps him away from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City.
Theo Walcott also went on to comment about playing Manchester United early in the upcoming season:
‘It’s nice to play them straight away because they might not be flying as they do towards the end of the season. Man United tend to start off quite slowly but they pick up so many points during the mid-season and at the end so hopefully we can catch them in their ‘bad’ spell. We’re a very fit team so we’ll be ready.’
Let’s hope you’re right about that Theo, and that your worries over the Asia tour do not come to pass.
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i don’t think anything that happens this season can be classed as the long run. In the long run it is a wise decision. Increasing fan bases increases commercial revenue, which reduces the pressure on the fans to pay for transfers (obviously it is still necessary to a certain extent). I wouldn’t be suprised if next year we toured america. Another move i would welcome. Anything that increases our spending power (more important than ever due to ffp constraints) can only be a good thing
Lets hope dey start off d season in an impressive way.
The bit on Man U always starting slowly is true judging from recent seasons. It will be good for us to nick some points from them before they wake up from their slumber. It is also necessary in modern day football to generate income from increased fan base around the world. The Asian trip may be tiring, but necessary. They should get over the ripple effects early enough for the start of the campaign.