Dutchman Robin Van Persie will captain Arsenal's first-team that will feature in a pre-season tour of Nigerian cities in 2012.
The first team players of the Gunners scheduled to make the trip to Nigeria next year alongside Van Persie include Theo Walcott, Alex Song, Gervinho, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta and Andre Arshavin among others.
The Barclays English Premier League side assured through their marketing director, Angus Kinnear that
Arsenal will hold their pre-season event in Abuja after inspecting the National Stadium in the Nigerian capital on Monday.
Kinnear, who made the trip to Nigeria in company of Paul Johnson (the first team travel and equipment manager), expressed excitement at the reception the team of managers from Arsenal received.
He also explained the reason why the North London side picked Nigeria for their 2012 pre-season tour.
"We are happy to be here. We are equally excited with the kind of reception we have received right from the airport and believe our top stars will get same reception when they come here.
"We are delighted with the number of passionate Arsenal fans that has turned up, as you could feel the excitement already. We have carried out our investigation and found that Arsenal FC has a very large fan base in Nigeria, perhaps more than you can find anywhere else in the world," Kinnear said.
The fan base of Arsenal in Nigeria is estimated at about two million.
Kinnear added that the club want to sustain the large number of Arsenal fans in Nigeria.
"We are working hard to make sure that this tour happens. For now nothing has been agreed upon but we are confident that an agreement would be reached and contract signed very soon. We are here to see the facilities, the stadium accommodation and all other plans for this great experience," stated the Arsenal marketing manager.
In 2009, two English clubs, Manchester United and Portsmouth, featured in a pre-season tournament in Abuja.
SOURCE: 234Next
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