China

Arsene Wenger: Chinese Super League needs to raise domestic profile and improve academies

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is currently in China where his side will face off Chelsea at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in China on Saturday, as both teams gear up for the next month’s Premier League season.

For the Gunners, it will be their fourth game of a gruelling pre-season schedule which has taken in Australia and China.

During a press conference on Friday, the Frenchman passed some comments about Chinese football and its professional football league, stated that the Chinese Super League needs a ‘good base’ to grow.

“To get the Chinese Super League to a top, top level they need Chinese players of top quality,” said Arsenal boss Wenger, as quoted by Daily Mail.

“You need an elite and a good base. At the moment it looks to me they have a good elite. How good the base is, I don’t know. I don’t know how good young Chinese players are.

‘When I worked in Japan, they worked in a very structured way with the youth system, they worked very hard to copy the academies in Europe and they did that well. I think it is a good example to follow for China.”

Arsenal have played three friendlies already, beating Sydney FC 2-0 and Western Sidney Wanderers 3-1 during their tour of Australia, and Bayern Munich in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 draw in the International Champions Cup in Shanghai.