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With
the searing heat, tropical downpours and long-haul flights, it is easy to see
why Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left wondering aloud this week whether
pre-season tours of Asia are worth all the aggravation
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There was the infamous
Hong Kong "killer pitch", an 11th-hour cancellation of a Manchester
derby in Beijing and now Arsenal players struck down with food poisoning in
Shanghai.
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Jeffrey
Schlupp (C) of Crystal Palace controls the ball between Adam Lallana (L) and
Mohamed Salah (R) of Liverpool FC during a 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy
fixture at Hong Kong Stadium
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Add
to that searing heat, tropical downpours and long-haul flights, and it is easy
to see why Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left wondering aloud this week
whether pre-season tours of Asia are worth all the aggravation.
It
is no secret that the trips each summer by Europe's leading clubs are
ultimately about making money.
But
the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Bayern
Munich -- just a few of the teams sweeping through Asia this month, have to
balance that with the toll it takes on players at a critical juncture in
preparations for the season.
The
money men at Arsenal would have shifted nervously in their seats when Wenger --
shorn of several star players suffering food poisoning in Shanghai -- was asked
on Wednesday whether this was really what his side needed ahead of the start of
another punishing Premier League campaign on August 12.
"That
is a good question," he said, smiling.
"But
if you ask me is it ideal physically to prepare? I'd say certainly not.
"Has
it got other advantages? Yes, because we can meet fans all over the world so
that is very positive and the team bonding is easier as well because we live
together for two weeks."
The
38 degree Celsius (nearly 100F) heat in Shanghai was "a shock" after
Australia, the Frenchman added, after his ailing side somehow drew 1-1 with
Bayern despite being outplayed, and then won on penalties.
It
does not end there for the Gunners, who started with two friendlies in
Australia and were to meet Chelsea in Beijing on Saturday in another exhibition
game.
In
Hong Kong, where Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City and Crystal
Palace are involved in the Premier League Asia Trophy, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp
has struggled to keep a lid on his frustrations.
Like
most of Asia, the city is regularly pounded with torrential rain at this time
of year, plus there is the humidity that can approach 100 percent.
Not
to mention the pollution that regularly envelopes China and Hong Kong.
- 'Killer pitch' -
Klopp,
who had to shelve one training session in Hong Kong because of the weather, is
particularly worried about the pitch at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
In
2013, the last time the Premier League's Asian showpiece was in Hong Kong,
then-Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio memorably dubbed the quagmire "a
killer pitch".
Andre
Villas-Boas, then Tottenham Hotspur manager, threatened to pull his team out
over fears of injury and his defender Jan Vertonghen suffered ankle damage that
made him a major doubt for the start of the season.
Then
last year Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was angered by the "very
bad" surface at Beijing's so-called Bird's Nest stadium and the derby with
Manchester City was called off hours before kick-off.
He
said his sole objective was to get his squad home in one piece.
Like
Wenger and Mourinho, Klopp appreciates the commercial aspect of the tours,
which see local fans decked out in replica shirts camped outside hotels waiting
to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
But
the German knows he will be judged by football results, not the balance sheet.
"What
can I say? I´m a football manager, I´m interested in the game, I´m interested
in the quality of the game and different things have influence on the
quality," he told reporters in Hong Kong, voicing fears over the pitch
there.
Premier
League chief executive Richard Scudamore will be keeping his fingers crossed
for good weather for the Saturday final round of Asia Trophy matches but is
confident the surface will hold up if the heavens open -- rain and
thunderstorms are forecast.
"Effectively four years ago we said there was no chance of this thing (tournament) coming back," he admitted on Thursday.
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