Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted the club was forced to scrap his preferred pre-season preparations after confirming plans for a tour of Asia and Nigeria on Friday.
Arsenal had already announced plans to visit Malaysia, China and Hong Kong in July and on Friday confirmed that the club would now travel to Nigeria for a friendly in Abuja on August 5.
The trip to Nigeria marks Arsenal’s first visit to Africa since a visit to South Africa in 1993.
But Wenger acknowledged the globe-trotting pre-season was in sharp contrast to his usual plans, which involved low-key friendlies in Austria before participation in the Emirates Cup exhibition event.
“We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season,” Wenger said.
“We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour.
“But we are in a race with the other clubs as well. I realised when I was at the World Cup in South Africa how popular a club like Arsenal is in Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is unbelievable.
“I was even frightened at some stage by how popular Arsenal is. In Kenya as well, it is absolutely unbelievable.
“A tour has advantages and disadvantages, let’s be honest.
“The advantage, of course, is to get in touch with your fan base in Asia – when you travel out there you realise how big the Premier League is and how big your club is over there.”