Source: PA
Wenger: The hard work starts now
Arsene Wenger will take his Arsenal squad out to a 10-day training camp in Austria on Monday insisting the hard work starts now as he looks to mould them into a team capable of winning a first Barclays Premier League title since 2004.
The Gunners boss ran the rule over summer signings Laurent Koscielny and Marouane Chamakh during Saturday's opening pre-season friendly at npower League Two outfit Barnet, where youngster Jay Simpson netted a double in a 4-0 win. Manuel Almunia - whose position as Arsenal number one is by no means secure - was not available because of illness.
It was a welcome change for the Arsenal manager to get back to football following a summer of continued speculation over the future of captain Cesc Fabregas, which Wenger maintains must now stop.
While Fabregas, who has five years of his contract left to run, and fellow World Cup finalist Robin van Persie will not be asked to return until the Emirates Cup begins on July 31, the rest of the Arsenal players who were out in South Africa will join up in Austria, where warm-up matches have been arranged against Sturm Graz and SC Neusiedl.
Arsenal will then tackle AC Milan and Celtic in the Emirates Cup, before their final friendly away to Legia Warsaw on August 7 ahead of the trip to Liverpool for their Barclays Premier League opener.
Wenger said: "We have six players coming back to join us on Monday when we go to Austria, and then the hard work starts. We have some tougher challenges coming up, especially in the Emirates Cup, so those games will give the new signings an opportunity to adapt, but we have to give them some time."
