Vietnam v Arsenal, Pre-Season Friendly: Where to Watch Live and Preview

Arsenal take on Vietnam at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Wednesday in their second pre-season game on their tour to Asia. The Gunners won their opening game 7-0 against Indonesia and are seemingly enjoying themselves as they prepare for the new Premier League season, starting on the 17<sup>th of August.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 1.00pm BST. Live coverage will be available on ESPN and ESPN HD. Live text commentary is on Arsenal's official website and a replay will be available on Arsenal Player at 3.00pm BST. Highlights of the game will be accessible on the site from 5:15pm BST.

Overview

Vietnam, currently placed 145<sup>th in the FIFA World rankings have a tough job in their hands against Arsenal who have made a brilliant start to their pre-season campaign. The South Asian side have lost their last four games in the international circuit with their latest setback coming against Hong Kong in a 1-0 defeat in the qualifiers for the Asia Cup in March.

Vietnam are currently bottom of the group trying to qualify for the tournament, having failed to gather any points with the United Arab Emirates leading the group with six from the two games played thus far. The second round of games will start from October when they will play Uzbekistan, currently third in the group, followed by the return legs.

Arsenal have been in fine form since the outset, dismantling Indonesia by seven goals in the opening game and are unlikely to show any mercy to their Vietnamese opponents. Arsene Wenger has stressed the importance of a good pre-season under their belts and the manager will be looking to give all his players some much needed game time before the action starts next season.

Theo Walcott, Chuba Akpom, Thomas Eisfeld, Serge Gnabry and Lukas Podolski had scored a goal each in their last game while Olivier Giroud scored a brace while coming on from the bench. Jack Wilshere missed the preceding game owing to flu but is back training with the squad and should play his first pre-season game in over two years.

Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal are missing from the squad as they have been allotted an extended vacation due to their involvement in the Confederations Cup which ended on the 30<sup>th of June. Thomas Vermaelen is recovering from a back injury and is likely to miss the first few games of Arsenal's Premier League season. Gervinho has not travelled with the squad as he is sorting out his future and is expected to make a move out of the club this summer.

The Gunners are looking to put in a title challenge next season and are looking to strengthen their squad in key areas where they fell short in the recently concluded season. However, the North London club have only managed to secure the signing of Auxerre starlet Yaya Sanogo till date and are keeping tabs on the likes of Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain among others to make a move to the Emirates. Sanogo, who was part of France's U20 World Cup Winning squad, has not travelled with the team.

Form Guide

Vietnam