Arsenal v Malaysia XI betting odds and preview

Gunners open Tour of Asia without Robin van Persie

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) © GEPA pictures

Arsenal v Malaysia XI betting will give Arsene Wenger his first look at his squad ahead of next season’s competitive action. He will also get to see how life may be without Robin van Persie in his ranks. Arsenal relied so heavily on the Dutchman last season for goals, and with Van Persie looking as if he is imminently going to be traded, then Wenger has to look at alternatives. Wenger though, does still seem to hope that Van Persie will have a change of heart and stay with the club, but that seems a bit unrealistic, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus chasing hard for his signature. So their match against Malaysia XI will be their first action on their tour of Asia, where they will bump Manchester City soon. They played the same fixture in Kuala Lumpur last year during the pre-season, cruising to a 4-0 victory, as they look to extend their fan-base abroad. So who will step up to cover for Robin van Persie?

Well, all eyes will be on Arsenal big two summer transfers up front. Arsenal snapped up French striker Olivier Giroud (reportedly as future cover for Robin van Persie according to some reports) as well as Germany’s Lukas Podolski. So the Gunners will have options and will want the new players to gel and settle into the team quickly, because the pressure could be on them next season to make up for the absence of Robin van Persie, who scored 30 of Arsenal’s 74 league goals last season. Both of the new signings have been confirmed for Arsenal’s Asian tour, and the likelihood is that both will get a run out in Arsenal v Malaysia XI betting. Naturally this is not going to be a highly competitive match, as it is against an assembled side which don’t play together.

This is more of an exercise in branding than anything. Arsenal cruised to victory in this one last year and even without Robin van Persie a pretty resounding victory should be on the cards again. This starts a busy period of matches for Arsenal ahead of the new Premier League season, as they face Manchester City three days later, followed by Kit Chee and then Cologne before they set themselves for the domestic season. So the Arsenal squad will be looked over and no doubt there will be plenty of experimentation throughout the match by the manager. But what it does give is an Arsenal forward an enormous chance to catch the eye of the manager.

Arsenal v Malaysia XI betting odds at online bookmaker William Hill
Arsenal 1/10, Draw 6/1, Malaysia XI 12/1

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