Wenger accepts tour compromise
Arsene Wenger accepts Arsenal had to make a "sporting compromise" with their pre-season summer tour to the Far East and Nigeria.
The Gunners broke with tradition in 2011 when they headed to Asia instead of Wenger's long-preferred option of a secluded training camp in Austria and low-key warm-up games before completing preparations for the new campaign at the Emirates Cup.
This summer during July Arsenal will visit Malaysia, China - where they will play Manchester City at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing - and Hong Kong, then travel off again to Nigeria in early August.
While Wenger admits it is not perhaps the best preparation for his squad, many of whom will have been at the European Championships, the Arsenal manager can understand the need for the change in philosophy.
Speaking at a press conference flanked by Arsenal's chief commercial officer Tom Fox and sponsor Emirates' divisional senior vice president corporate communications Boutros Boutros, Wenger said: "We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season.
"We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour. But we are in a race with the other clubs as well. I realised when I was at the World Cup in South Africa how popular a club like Arsenal is in Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is unbelievable. I was even frightened at some stage by how popular Arsenal is. In Kenya as well, it is absolutely unbelievable."