Arsenal will play in Vietnam for the first time in their history this summer - making it the 54th different foreign country the Club has appeared in.
In fact it is believed to be the first time any English club side has played in Vietnam, as the Gunners continue to explore new territories.
Three and a half weeks after the game in the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Arsenal will make it 55 different countries visited when they play in Finland for the first ever time. Arsène Wenger's men will take on Manchester City at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki on August 10, a week before the Premier League season starts.
"The Club last appeared in Indonesia in 1983, playing three games there during a June tour to the country"
Arsenal will also be in action in Japan and Indonesia this summer, two countries that the Gunners have played in previously.
The Club last appeared in Indonesia in 1983, playing three games there during a June tour to the country. The first game, on June 9 in Medan, ended in a 3-0 win over VSP - current Leeds United manager Brian McDermott was among the scorers. Three days later Terry Neill's side moved on to Jakarta and beat VSPSSI 5-0. McDermott was again on target, as was Kenny Sansom, Lee Chapman, Alan Sunderland and Raphael Meade.
The tour concluded on June 15 in Surabaja, with a 2-0 defeat against VSNIAC Mitra. That was the first, and so far only, time the Gunners had visited Indonesia.
Arsène Wenger's men will also travel to Japan this summer for two friendly matches, the Club's first fixtures there since 1968.
At the end of the 1967/68 season Bertie Mee's Gunners jetted off for three games in Japan - each against an All Japan XI - between May 23 and 29. Arsenal won all three matches, culminating in a 4-0 victory in Tokyo, in front of 70,000 spectators. At the time, that was record attendance for football in the country.
Arsenal's record in Japan
Date | Opponents | Venue | Score | Scorers |
May 23, 1968 | All Japan XI | Tokyo | 3-1 | Gould, Radford, Neill |
May 26, 1968 | All Japan XI | Fukuoka | 1-0 | Simmons |
May 29, 1968 | All Japan XI | Tokyo | 4-0 | McLintock 2, Jenkins, Radford |
Arsenal's record in Indonesia
Date | Opponents | Venue | Score | Scorers |
June 9, 1983 | VSP | Medan | 3-0 | McDermott, Meade, Lee |
June 12, 1983 | VSPSSI | Jakarta | 5-0 | Sunderland, Meade, Chapman, McDermott, Sansom |
June 15, 1983 | VSNIAC Mitra | Surabaja | 0-2 |
Arsenal have a long tradition of travelling the world for friendly matches. As long ago as 1907, Woolwich Arsenal toured Europe at the end of the season, playing friendlies in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia (as it was then), Austria and Hungary.
The Club's very first game on foreign soil was on May 5, 1907 - a 2-1 win over Racing Club of Brussels in Belgium. Billy Garbutt and Peter Kyle scored the goals for Phil Kelso's team.
In fact Arsenal were unbeaten in all eight tour games that year, including a 9-0 win in Budapest to conclude the two-week trip.
"As long ago as 1907, Woolwich Arsenal toured Europe at the end of the season, playing friendlies in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia (as it was then), Austria and Hungary"
Overall, Arsenal played 38 overseas friendlies before first tasting defeat. That came in May 1926, a 1-0 reverse against a Rapid Vienna All-stars team.
The next defeat abroad for Arsenal was more than 10 years later, another 1-0 reverse, this time against Feyenoord in Rotterdam in May 1938. Defeats were incredibly rare for Arsenal on their travels in those early years - the pre-war record for overseas matches was P75 W63 D10 L2.
Arsenal began to travel further afield than Europe after the war, and at the end of the 1948/49 season the Gunners set off for a seven-game tour of Brazil. Recording two wins from those seven matches against Brazilian club sides - including Fluminense, Palmerias and Corinthians - they returned to Brazil in 1951 for six more games (recording one victory).
Arsenal broke new ground in October 1954, becoming the first English Football League side ever to play a fixture in Russia. A mid-season game, the fixture was sandwiched between two weekend Division One matches. Dynamo Moscow won 5-0 in front of a crowd of 90,000.
In 1964, Arsenal travelled to South Africa - where they won five out of five friendlies - and two years later they made the trip to the Caribbean, triumphing in Trinidad, Jamaica and Curacao.
A further two years down the line came the first tour to Asia, as covered above.
For the following few pre-seasons, fixtures tended to be centred in Europe, though there were one-off games in America (1972), Canada, Bermuda (both 1973) and Dubai (1976).
In 1977 the Gunners toured Australia during pre-season, playing twice in Sydney and once in Adelaide - winning one of three games.
Prior to the 1993/94 season George Graham took his side to South Africa, where they beat Manchester United 2-0, Orlando Pirates 1-0 and Kaiser Chiefs 1-0.
During the Wenger era, pre-season preparations were largely focused around the annual training camp in Austria, until the Asia Tour of 2011.
The Gunners have played in 12 different countries in the past 10 years, losing just four of the 47 fixtures in that time.
Pre-season games abroad in last 10 years
Season | Opponents | Countries | Record |
2002/03 | Munich 1860, Roma, Panathinaikos, Rapid Vienna, Neuberg | Austria, Germany | W4, D1, L0 |
2003/04 | Rangers, Celtic, Besiktas, Austria Vienna, Ritzing | Scotland, Austria | W3, D2, L0 |
2004/05 | Ajax, River Plate, Sturm Graz, Grazer AK, NK Maribor | Holland, Austria, Slovenia | W3, D2, L0 |
2005/06 | Porto, Ajax, Utrecht, Ritzing, SC Weiz | Holland, Austria | W5, D0, L0 |
2006/07 | AZ Alkmaar, Schwadorf, SV Mattersburg | Holland, Austria | W3, D0, L0 |
2007/08 | Ajax, Lazio, Salzburg, Genclerbergi | Holland, Austria | W3, D0, L1 |
2008/09 | Sevilla, Ajax, Stuttgart, Burgenland XI, Szombathelyi | Holland, Germany, Austria, Hungary | W3, D2, L0 |
2009/10 | Valencia, Hannover, Szombathelyi, SC Columbia | Spain, Austria, Hungary, Germany | W3, D0, L1 |
2010/11 | Legia Warsaw, Neusiedl, Sturm Graz | Poland, Austria | W3, D0, L0 |
2011/12 | Benfica, Cologne, Hangzhou, Greentown, Malaysia XI | Portugal, Germany, China, Malaysia | W2, D1, L1 |
2012/13 | Malaysia XI, Manchester City, Kitchee FC, Cologne | Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Germany | W2, D1, L1 |
Countries/states in which Arsenal have played (including competitive fixtures)
Aruba | Australia | Austria |
Belgium | Bermuda | Brazil |
Canada | China | Croatia |
Curacao | Cyprus | Czechoslovakia |
Denmark | Egypt | France |
Germany | Greece | Holland |
Hong Kong | Hungary | Iceland |
Indonesia | Ireland | Israel |
Italy | Jamaica | Japan |
Kuwait | Malaysia | Malta |
Northern Ireland | Norway | Poland |
Portugal | Romania | Russia |
Saudi Arabia | Scotland | Serbia |
Singapore | Slovenia | South Africa |
Spain | Sweden | Switzerland |
Thailand | Trinidad | Turkey |
Ukraine | UAE | USA |
Wales | Yugoslavia |
Although Arsenal travelled the globe in a fairly varied manner ever since those early foreign trips in 1907, one friendly fixture remained a constant between 1930 and 1962.
Arsenal took on Racing Club de Paris on an annual basis from 1930 onwards, to help raise money for the veterans of First World War. In fact for much of the 1930s, this was the only overseas game the team played each year.
The fixture - initiated by Herbert Chapman and his counterpart at Racing (one of France's oldest and most prestigious clubs) Jean Bernard-Levy - was originally played on or near to Armistice Day (November 11). With the exceptions of 1932 and 1953, when the French side travelled to Highbury as part of a double header, all the games were played in Paris.
The teams met 27 times, with the Gunners claiming 19 victories. The only interruptions in the sequence were between 1939 and 1945 due to the Second World War, and 1961/62 when there was no fixture.
Since moving to Emirates Stadium in 2006, home pre-season friendlies have increasingly appeared on the schedule. The Emirates Cup returns this summer, for the sixth staging of the tournament, which Arsenal have so far won three times.
The Gunners have played 10 Emirates Cup fixtures in all, winning six and losing just one (to Juventus in 2008).
This year Galatasaray, Porto and Napoli will also compete, taking the total number of different teams to have participated to 17 (Paris Saint Germain are the only other side to appear more than once).
Arsenal's 17 goals in the competition's history have been scored by 13 different players - Robin van Persie top scored with three.
Other than the Emirates Cup, other pre-season friendlies played at home have tended to be testimonial matches, though Highbury did host the 1991 and 1994 Makita International Tournaments - winning the latter edition.
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