Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that his team might not be adequately prepared for the start of the new season.
Arsenal young and almost a second string squad which visited Asia for their pre season tour, flew back home after a disappointing draw in their final game against Kitchee. Coach Wenger had left a dozen of his first team players at home for various fitness and commitment issues and is worried about his squad’s readiness ahead of the new season.
The Frenchman announced that the trio of Nicklas Bendtner, Sebastian Squillaci and Ju Young Park will be on their way out but is set to hold talks with Andrei Arshavin after his move to Zenit fell through.
‘Bendtner, Squillaci and Park will be on their way to go somewhere,’ said Wenger on Sunday. ‘Arshavin, it depends. We have to sit together and talks. He could still have a future at the club.’
The Gunners’ continue to have injury woes as Wilshere has been ruled out till October while Bacary Sagna continues to recover from the broken leg that he suffered in the final stages of last season.
‘Sagna will be short for the start of the season and Rosicky will not be back until September, in my opinion.
‘Rosicky did fantastically well for us at the end of the season, so it is a big blow. The injury he has got comes from the European Championships.
‘Podolski and Giroud may take longer than expected. I cannot play them in pre-season, so I will ease them in the Premier League.’
The new recruits of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud will just have one game to familiarize themselves to the Arsenal style of football when they face Cologne FC on August 12.
Wenger said: ‘The players who were out here will have had enough games but some players will have only one game.
‘I decided to have one game behind closed doors to try and get a good opponent but at the moment it will be behind closed doors against ourselves.
‘I have organised a training camp in Germany ahead of the Cologne game. It is a little bit unusual for us.’
The pre season tour of Asia has been a disappointing one for the Londoners as their young defenders proved that they are yet to reach the standards of the Premier League. Young German Thomas Eisfeld who scored twice in the tour impressed and earned rave reviews from his boss.
‘He is composed, intelligent, mobile and he makes the game come alive,” said Wenger. ‘Every time he came on you could see something straight away.
‘He has an impact on the game. He makes himself available and his passing is intelligent and he is good in the box. You cannot teach a player that. He earns maximum points on this trip.’