Arsenal to join Everton and Stoke City in Asia for preseason tournament

The Premier League has announced that Arsenal, Everton, and Stoke City will compete against a select Singapore XI in a tournament for the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore this July, as part of the preparation for the next Premier League season.

Arsenal has a history of preseason trips to Asia, in part because there are tons of Arsenal fans there and in part because it's a really good commercial opportunity for the club. So I'm not all that surprised that they're making a return, particularly to a place like Singapore with plenty of people who are willing to spend money on things. I'm also hoping the Barclays Asia Trophy is as cool as the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup that we won a few years ago.

On the other hand, I am enraged by the prospect of possibly having to play a third game against Stoke City next year (or more, I suppose, depending on cup draws). Two is bad enough, and if we could negotiate it down to zero I'd be quite pleased.