EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal to become first Premier League team to play match in Vietnam

Arsenal will become the first Premier League club to play in Vietnam during their pre-season tour to Asia this summer.



A match against the Vietnamese national team will be staged in Hanoi on July 17 to take advantage of the huge interest in English football.

Arsenal say they have an especially big following in the country, as do Manchester United and Barcelona.



Breaking ground: Arsenal will be the first Premier League team to play in Vietnam

Pre-season plans Arsenal: Indonesia.

Liverpool: South East Asia, including Indonesia .

Manchester United: Bankok, Sydney, Yokohama, Osaka and Hong Kong .

Chelsea: Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia .

Manchester City: Hong Kong.

The Gunners have already announced a game in Jakarta, Indonesia and one other match is being planned.

The Asia trip will be Arsenal's third tour to the Far East in three years.



In both 2011 and 2012, they played in China and Malaysia.



Previously, manager Arsene Wenger had resisted commercial pressure to take his team on long-haul trips pre-season, preferring to prepare at his favourite training base in Austria.

