EPL opener best time to meet Man City: Parlour
Champs will have more players missing because of the World Cup than Arsenal
English Premier League club Arsenal can count their lucky stars to be opening their league season against reigning champions Manchester City.
That is the opinion of former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour, who was speaking at a media event at Shangri-La Hotel yesterday as an Arsenal ambassador.
The 45-year-old, who amassed a total of 339 league appearances for the Gunners over a 12-year period, said: "It's a tough start for Arsenal, but you've got to play City some time.
"And the first game is ideal because they've got a lot more players missing because of the World Cup than Arsenal have."
The champions, who are in the US for their pre-season tour, will likely be without many of their stars for the season-opener.
They will rejoin the squad at a later date after their exertions at the recent World Cup.
Such players include captain Vincent Kompany and midfield ace Kevin de Bruyne, who led Belgium to the semi-final of the World Cup.
The Citizens will also be missing English players like Raheem Sterling,John Stones, Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph, who likewise crashed out of the semi-final.
They will, however, be boosted by the signing of Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who arrived from Leicester City earlier this month for £60m (S$108m).
The game will be a baptism of fire for new Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who will be looking to steer the Gunners back into the Champions League after they failed to qualify for the competition for the past two seasons.
Said Parlour: "Champions League football is so important for Arsenal, and the ideal scenario would be winning the Europa League.
"Sometimes when you're out of it, it's tough to get back into the Champions League, so obviously we have to work hard starting this pre-season and bring that into the season."
Emery will be looking to get his reign off to a flying start when his side take on Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid on Thursday at the Singapore National Stadium for the International Champions Cup (ICC).
And Parlour believes that a good result at the ICC will help the Gunners gain some momentum.
He said: "This ICC is very important to getting that winning formula. I'm looking forward to seeing what Unai does, and the ICC are good warm-up games for that first game against Man City."
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