Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal's Summer Tour of the United States will not allow his team to properly prepare for the start of the Premier League season, which begins on August 16.
“These training camps in the modern game are decided for commercial reasons and because of the extent of popularity of the club,” said Wenger on Thursday. “We’ve never been to the States before and I was very happy to come to New York, a city I love. But for purely football reasons, the best thing to do is stay and not travel too much – because of the time you waste and the jet-lag you suffer.”
He added: “This season is a post-World Cup year and very difficult because the time is very short between the final, which was on 13 July, and the start of the new season on 16 August. Fifa say you are obliged to give four weeks’ holiday to the players, so I don’t know how all that works together. It looks, to me, impossible.”
Wenger’s comments echo similar complaints made recently by the Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, who has said his team’s pre-season tours are wrongly being dictated by the club’s commercial interests.
Via Reuters