Arsene Wenger was critical of some of the young players after Arsenal fought hard to drew Kitchee in one of their pre season encounters in Hong Kong.
Kitchee made the most of the Gunners’ defensive frailty and took a 2-1 advantage in the first half itself but young German Thomas Eisfeld, touted by many as the ‘next Fabregas’, scored his second in the pre season to draw level.
With the experienced defensive trio of Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker back home, Wenger started with a very young back line comprising of Craig Eastmond, Kyle Bartley, Ignasi Miquel and Nico Yennaris.
And the Gunners’ boss had some strong words for the young defenders when he talked to the media after the match. He said, “I think defensively we looked fragile, especially in the first half.
“In the second half not so much because we were not challenged. Defensively we have a lot of work to do as a unit to do much better.
“We let everybody play and some players are not yet at the level of the Premier League. It is a learning process. If you don’t do it in pre-season then you never do it – you give them a chance to see what is requested at the top level.
“I played all of the defenders during this tour to see who is ready and who is not. We have Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker at home – three experienced defenders.”