Filed under: Arsenal, Premier League, Football
A pre-season tour is usually a chance for a manager to see how his players have reacted to doing nothing all summer while simultaneously earning a few quid by attracting new fans.Arsenal's pre-season tour is turning into something a little bit different.
It might make the difference between a great season and another season of indifference at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger is preparing to take his squad on a trip to the Far East and it will be the biggest and best chance he has of talking Samir Nasri into staying at the club.
It is well known that Nasri - and captain Cesc Fabregas - have been courted by Arsenal's rivals with Nasri keen on a move to Manchester United while captain Fabregas almost inevitably looks to be heading back to Barcelona, the club where he spent his teenage years before moving to London.
However, the ink on any deal is not yet done. And Wenger is refusing to accept that he will lose the crucial duo.
He told the Independent on Sunday: "Our position is always the same - we want to keep Cesc and I will fight as hard as I can to keep him.
"Samir Nasri is exactly the same. We will do everything we can to keep him.
"For me, the best thing is not to talk too much about it. The more you speak about things, the less chance you have to achieve them.
"The only thing that I can promise you is that we are working very hard and we have had some long nights to achieve what we want to achieve.
"I can understand [the impatience among the fans]. Believe me, I know all the clubs in the world and everybody needs the same players for the same positions.
"We are at the top level and therefore need exceptional quality to strengthen our side.
"My responsibility is first of all not to lose players and then to add and make us stronger. Let's hope we can bring in one or two more of top quality."
Fabregas is not on the trip because of a calf complaint which will concern Wenger because he would have loved to have spent the time in Malaysia and China whispering promises into Fabregas' ear about Arsenal's future.
That he cannot do that is a setback. But he can do it with Nasri and Wenger will spend every waking moment of the trip trying to convince him to stay at Arsenal.
And if Wenger succeeds, he can class the tour as one of the biggest recent successes Arsenal have had - which, in its own way, explains why Nasri wants to leave in the first place.
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