'The Gunners' vs Malaysia On July 24

PETALING JAYA (Selangor,Malaysia) April 10 (Bernama) -- English Premier League (EPL) club Arsenal FC has promised to field their best players against a Malaysian side during their scheduled friendly match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 24. "Absolutely, we'll bring in the full squad here. It'll be the preparation for the team for the coming season," Arsenal FC marketing director, Angus Kinnear, told a press conference here on Tuesday. "Most of the senior players in the team will be playing in the Euro 2012 (European Cup) and they'll be back for the pre-season training," he explained. Present at the official announcement on the team's return to Malaysia was Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and vice-president Subahan Kamal, Arsenal communication director Mark Gonnella and ProEvents Group chief executive officer Julian Kam. Arsenal's visit to Malaysia last year, after a 12-year gap, was marked by a rapturous reception from enthusiastic Malaysian fans. Gonnella said: "After what we saw during last year's pre-season tour here, we knew that we have a strong support base in Malaysia and also the region." "Support from the Malaysian fans is really important for us and it's the big reason why we're coming here. We will be working closely with Arsenal fan clubs here as part of the activities during our presence here," he said. Arsenal football club, also known as "The Gunners" first visited Southeast Asian countries in 1999, and their second trip here last year drew tens of thousands of spectators to the National Stadium. The friendly match with Malaysia is the first for the club in the Arsenal Asia Tour programme for 2012 since the club will also tour Beijing and Hong Kong. Earlier, in his welcoming speech, Tengku Abdullah noted that it was a privilege to have Arsenal FC back in Malaysia. "Malaysia is truly privileged to have Arsenal here two years in a row. Last summer, Arsenal came to Malaysia after a 12-year break. It created much excitement and the team's presence was the talk of the town. "More than 55,000 fans turned up for training sessions and the friendly match then, and we're expecting an even bigger turnout this time," Tengku Abdullah said. -- BERNAMA