Arsenal have confirmed that we’ll soon take part in a friendly match in Dubai against Al-Nasr Dubai SC as part of a five-day warm-weather training camp.
Without a fixture between Thursday’s Europa League game with Rennes and Newcastle’s visit to the Emirates on 1st April, Unai seems happy enough to take his squad to new climes, although it does look like our itinerary has been heavily influenced by sponsors Emirates.
In addition to a match at 6pm on 26th March at the recently refurbished Al Maktoum Stadium, the players will visit a local hospital and the palace of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance. Maybe he can play centre-back?
“It will be great to get some warm weather training and break up the usual routine as we enter the final stage of the season,” said Unai Emery.
“The facilities in Dubai are fantastic and it will be an honour to be part of the formal opening ceremony for the new stadium.”
The club have pointed out that this will be our second ever fixture against Al-Nasr. 43 years ago, goals from Malcolm Macdonald, John Matthews and John Radford sealed a 3-1 victory.
We will have a crazy April schedule if we beat Rennes. Hope we don’t pick up any knocks or injuries.
I don’t understand why we can’t we schedule the postponed Wolves match for the March break?
Because the players will be away with their countries?
Malcolm Macdonald! That name brings back some memories. As a kid I had a 45 single and one of the lines was “Gunners we’re on attack, Liam and SuperMac”
I do not like this break. We will fall behind other teams in the table with games in hands. We never managed this situation well.
Chelsea play their match in hand and that is is the only game affecting us so we will not be falling behind
MamUtd and Spuds don´t play at the weekend in the PL as well. Chelski play their game in hand. So after the weekend all the teams, that challenge for the top 4 will have played the same amount of games.
M’United
*tips fedora*
While you were out drinking I was scouting Sheffield United. I Studied the Blades…
I would imagine it will be a bit of a shadow squad as the 26th March is still an international date. Can’t see the team being anywhere near full strength.
Even Arabs are formally launching their newly refurbished stadium, but some lot can’t launch their empty toilet bowl. Homeless, noisy goblins ?
Vince
Not in a good taste mate.. You look down on Arabs fair enough but keep it to yourself.
Not “fair enough” at all.
Will Thomas
Agree, my bad
I look down on ALL spuds irrespective of their ethnicity NOT because they’re this or that colour/religion but because they’re King Teds..you feel me? Now wash your mouth out and don’t do it again…
Not to condone/subvert racism, but vince could be referring to all their setbacks in prepping for their World Cup?
Why are we sucking up to these toe-nail pulling slave owners? Dont tell me…money…
Do we even know if we get a fee or what fee for this ?
Don’t want to make it a political debate but can’t let misinformation go unchecked. So where did you see slaves in Dubai?
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/24/nyu-compensate-thousands-migrant-workers-abu-dhabi-complex-nardello-report
This was just a contract that builders had with New York University. If the contractors were skirting the “safeguards” NYU had laid out, then no telling how they manage workers for their own state/private projects. This was also in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, but have to think similar mistreatment of workers is going on.
I objected to the use of the term “slave owner”. Which is quite strong and shows contempt.
Occasional bad treatment of workers doesn’t equate to slavery, maybe you need to read more about slavery and how the slaves were treated.
And while you were at it, should’ve also included the report done on Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct warehouses, or do you think his treatment of workers is acceptable in a first world country?
.
Point is, the two comments I objected to wouldn’t look out of place in a DailyMail comment section. Here at Arseblog, lets pls stick to football.
Can’t just stick to football when at this point the game and its benefactors are inextricably linked. And let’s see, the safeguards NYU had put in place for its own project were things like “forced labour, poor wages, illegal recruitment fees and associated debts, squalid living conditions, and abuse and harassment”. You can quibble with the term slavery, but the absence of any of those protections would amount to human rights abuses. I’m in full agreement that no one should be disparaging Arab people, but is it not possible to be critical of their business practices? And do we not… Read more »
Cacho “Can’t just stick to football when at this point the game and its benefactors are inextricably linked”. You really want to open that can of worms? You must think UK, USA and the rest of the West is clean? Those corruption charges and subsequent punishments weren’t awarded to the Dubai slave owners or were they.. “I’m in full agreement that no one should be disparaging Arab people”. By defending a trope often used for rich Arabs by envious non-Arabs. I asked the guy to show me the slaves but you butted in and keep going on about the working… Read more »
I really don’t understand why you’re shilling for Emirates. They are the team’s sponsor, nothing more, nothing less. “they have been good to Arsenal, very loyal and generous” Are you dumb? LOYALTY??? It’s a business agreement. Emirates Airlines is owned by the country of UAE. It’s a deal that gets them tons of exposure, they also are the shirt sponsors of many many other clubs. They aren’t some magical benefactor guiding Arsenal’s path to heaven. And yes, the UAE has myriad human rights violations, including similar problems with migrant workers as in Qatar. Have a gander at Human Right’s Watch… Read more »
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/united-arab-emirates
Cacho
Very classy.. says a lot about your upbringing and values that you adhere. Human rights? You don’t care about them, just a reason to have a go at them. They are tribal people with their own set of values and culture. Don’t need a western nobody to dictate what’s good for them.
BTW those kids in churches and football academies did have human rights, agree?
@Realitycheck Tribal people??? And do you really think forced laborers in the UAE share the same values as their ’employers’? Moral relativism when it doesn’t take into account the power some have to force their values on others, is a load of shit. I think that’s just a cop out so that you don’t have to consider that Arsenal might not always be this morally unimpeachable entity. Anyway, it’s perfectly ok to insult the ruling class of any society especially when they’re so uncaring about other lives, so long as it’s clearly limited to that section of society. Insulting ‘Arabs’… Read more »
Nice whataboutism, douche.
Sorry mate i started out by querying the need to go there to play against a Mickey Mouse team and put it down to vulgar monetary motives to keep Kroenke in fancy wigs. I have no involvement with Mike Ashley whereas i do have strong attachments to the Arsenal…we have class and pedigree and must not get into bed with such undesirables…and I repeat I speak as an Arab Gooner…
There aren’t slaves in the conventional sense in Dubai but a lot of indian and indonesian workers go to Dubai in search if a better life. The cobstruction companies and housekeeping agencies (these are the jobs that the afformentioned nationalities are often employed in) loan their workers money to travel there. The workers then don’t earn enough to pay of their debts often living in shoddy conditions away from the glitzy and glamourous parts of town. Now here is the sticking point, in dubai if you’re in debt you are not allowed to leave the country. They take away your… Read more »
There’s also a lot of migrant workers that are really well treated and have a stunning way of life – probably better than mine! – and that I have witnessed… just to add a bit of perspective.
I think the UAE is rapidly developing overnight from what I would call medieval, to ultra modern.
There are still cores of the medieval, but we were still hanging people in England in the 1960s!
Give it 20 years and it’ll be a completely different story out there.
They employed tied labour to build their infrastructure paying them misery wages and confiscating their passport so they cant escape…btw i think political debates in football are a good thing and long overdue…i was having this conversation with a Man City mate only today…that PSG and CIty were owned by slave-owning scum…and I speak as an Arab Gooner…
God you lot are boring
Confused 1- Doesn’t matter if you’re an Arab, facts matter not your ethnicity. 2- Those Indian, Pakistani, Bangali and Indonesian worker are cheated and manipulated by agents (their own countrymen) and not by the Emiratis or Government officials. They know full well, the law, conditions and terms before departing to Dubai but their desperation gets the better of them. 3- They get in debt my not paying “kafalat” to their sponser (kafeel) and instead keep sending all their money back home. The payments keep building up to a point where they simply can’t clear them and then try and run.… Read more »
Fuck off you apologist piece of shit. Nobody should be treated the way the working migrants do in the Middle East. Fucking oil-drinking piece of shit.
Confused Facts matter not your ethnicity. Those immigrant worker are manipulated and cheated by their agents (their own countrymen) not by the Emirati government. The workers know full well of the terms and conditions and the law but they choose it because it pays a lot better than India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. One such term is to pay some amount to the Kafeel(sponser). Workers get greedy, keep missing the payments to the point where they simply can’t pay it. People like that are put in jail in the West, I am sure they don’t allow passports in Her Majesty’s… Read more »
I mentioned my ethnicity just in case my comment was misconstrued as that of a bigot…The Emirati government treat their foreign workers like they were medieval serfs. They lock people up and torture them for daring to criticise their royal family…anyways the list is long but as a Gooner I don’t like the smell of their money.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘slaves’, but a lot of people are kind of trapped in poor working conditions. The construction industry is pretty grubby out there. That said, I’m not sure it’s as bad as Qatar. I’ve even heard of westerners being refused exit on the grounds that their services are still contracted, so I’m guessing Qatar might be a bit different to the UAE. I’ve been to Dubai 11 times and have not witnessed slavery, but I’ve seen some pretty shocking shanty-style living conditions for construction workers. To my mind, Abu Dhabi is similar to… Read more »
Ben
Agree. Your assessment is quite balanced.
Cheers
I hope when his Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum(Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of finance) sees the great turn out arsenal is going to bring out in his country then he would obviously offer to buy us… What a day that would be if only kroenke agrees
Lol why the dislikes…blokes right.
Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First of his name, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of finance, and welcomer of The Arsenal.
Is Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the bloke with all the race-horses?
Yes.
Probably buy us and turn the Emirates into the only horse race in London.
racecourse.
I would prefer it if he bought us and turned it into a one horse race for Arsenal to win the Premiership
Can we just play the U23 side in this fixture please?
If it’ll help boost summer transfer funds then sure but I’d prefer the squad just drilled hard and stayed fit and healthy
This seems extremely risky and unnecessary
Supermac! I was thinking about Malcolm Macdonald after the various pitch incursions over the weekend. I was at West Ham away in 1978 and we were two up, when two hefty blokes in donkey jackets ran onto the pitch and tried to attack him. That’s over 40 years ago now so memory might be a bit dodgy but I have this image of these two fellers chasing after the bow-legged No. 9….Game finished 2-2. That’s when going to West Ham was like being out where the buses don’t run.
So … is this being done predominantly for money?
I’m sure they have excellent facilities in UAE, but is an overseas trip and warm weather training really for the best mid-season?
I’m not happy with the idea of mid-season breaks being used for commercial purposes, especially at so vital a stage in the season.
Malcolm MacDonald…wasn’t he a Doobie Brother?
Michael McDonald
I would have preffered training and recharging batteries, not long distance travelling and a friendly. But what do I know, maybe there are benefits.
This is obviously part of the sponsorship deal with Emirates and I’m sure Arsenal are getting paid. It really is warm weather training as the game will not be taken seriously by first team players. They will fly first class, stay in luxurious hotels and sun bathe around the pool. Not a bad gig.
Good points
He wants his own song
He wants his own song
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
He wants his own song
It’s got a nice little ring to it ?
FFS the comment causing all the offence is an obvious joke. Not really ‘allowed’ these days in our politically correct bubble is it?