Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that the first team squad will play a match in Nagoya, Japan as part of the Club’s pre-season Asia Tour 2013.
The visit will see Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal team play a match against his old club Nagoya Grampus – the team he successfully managed for an 18-month period between 1995 and 1996, before becoming Arsenal manager.
The match will take place at the 45,000 capacity Toyota Stadium on Monday, July 22, 2013, and will see Arsenal take on J League side Nagoya Grampus. It will be the first time an Arsenal first team has played a match in Japan since May 1968, when the Club played four matches during an end of season tour to the country.
The trip to Japan forms part of Arsenal’s Asia Tour 2013, in which the Club has already confirmed a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia on 13-14 July for an exhibition match against the Indonesian National Team at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Everyone at Arsenal is looking forward to visiting Japan in July, as part of our Asia Tour 2013. The Arsenal first team has not visited Japan in over 40 years, and we are all extremely excited in meeting many loyal Japanese Arsenal supporters during our time in this magnificent country. Visiting Japan will not only be special to the players and staff, but also to Arsène, who spent a successful time as manager of Nagoya Grampus before he joined Arsenal.
“We are proud to be visiting Asia for the third successive year in the summer and in addition to the already announced visits to Indonesia and Japan, we hope to confirm further details for our Asia Tour 2013 in the very near future.”
Arsène Wenger said: “Everyone at Arsenal is very excited to be visiting Japan in July as part of our Asia Tour 2013. Japan and of course, Nagoya are very special to me. I have many good memories from my time working in Japan and the success I enjoyed with Nagoya Grampus and I am looking forward to meeting many good friends again in the summer.
“Japanese people are extremely knowledgeable about football and have a big passion for the sport, and I know that the English Premier League and Arsenal have many supporters in Japan. It will be an exciting visit for both the players and the people of Japan, but it will also be good preparation for the team ahead of the 2013-14 season.”
The Asia Tour 2013 will be Arsenal’s third successive pre-season trip to Asia. In July 2011, the Arsenal first team squad visited Hangzhou, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, playing a match in each country and also taking part in many activities with supporters in both countries.
In July 2012, the Arsenal first team squad once again visited China, this time playing a match in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, and also in Hong Kong. The team also visited Malaysia again, playing a match in Kuala Lumpur’s national stadium. During the tour, a number of activities were organised involving Arsenal players and Asia’s passionate supporters.
Further details regarding the matches in Jakarta and Nagoya, including ticket details, will be announced in due course.
The Club are currently working on plans for further fixtures in Asia this summer, which will also be confirmed as soon as possible.
Arsenal Football Club would like to thank ProEvents for their continued cooperation for the third successive year with Arsenal’s tours to Asia.
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