Final ‘an important tune-up for EPL opening day’

SINGAPORE — The Barclays Asia Trophy may be a pre-season tournament, but both Arsenal and Everton are determined to lift the Cup when they clash in the final at the National Stadium tonight.

The Gunners are set to field a full-strength squad for the match, with manager Arsene Wenger revealing that the likes of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud — all three missed the team’s clash against the Singapore Selection on Wednesday — will start against the Toffees.

He said that with three weeks to go to the start of the Premier League and with an eye on winning the title this year, they are keen to build as much momentum as possible before their season-opener against West Ham on Aug 9.

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal had previously criticised pre-season tours to distant countries as detrimental to his side’s preparations for the season, but Wenger claims the Barclays Asia Trophy, which is the first appearance for Arsenal in the series, has so far benefited his team.

“Overall, it is a good surprise for us because it’s held on a good pitch, there are good training facilities and the quality of the games has been surprisingly good at this stage of the season,” said Wenger yesterday.

“The first half was very competitive between Stoke and Everton.

The challenges were Premier League challenges and I expect that from Everton in the final. They came out of a season where they did less well than the season before and they certainly want to start strong. They look focused and well-prepared.”

Toffees manager Roberto Martinez said the main objective in Singapore is to improve the team’s physical and fitness levels, but insists his players will not ease up against Wenger’s side.

“We are in a trophy mood and we want to win,” said Martinez, 42. “Whoever is out there in an Everton shirt, we expect a certain level of performance and quality in our play. It brings the game to a different level with extra meaning to everything you do.

“You could see from the Stoke game that it wasn’t a normal pre-season game and we benefited immensely from that. This is week two of our work and we feel within the squad that we need to be ready for whatever comes our way.” NOAH TAN