Cesc out of tour but Nasri goes

Posted Sunday, July 10, 2011 by Teamtalk.com

Cesc out of tour but Nasri goes
Fabregas and Nasri: Gunners pals

Cesc Fabregas has been ruled out of Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia due to a hamstring injury, but Samir Nasri will travel.

Club captain Fabregas, who is again being strongly linked with a summer move to Barcelona, sustained a muscle strain at the end of last season and will not travel with the Gunners, who will play friendly matches in Kuala Lumpur and in China.

"Fabregas will not travel because he still has a small muscular problem. He will stay and practice here," Arsene Wenger told the club's website.

The Spaniard told his Twitter followers: "I'm sorry to all the fans in Asia that I wont be on the tour. After just returning from Indonesia I know how special u all r. Ill make it up."

Nasri, another player who has been linked with a move away, will travel as part of a 23-man squad, along with promising teenagers Ryo Miyaichi, Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong.

Arsenal are set to sign Ivory Coast striker Gervinho from Lille but the deal has not been sealed, with the club revealing via their official website: "The imminent signing of Lille striker Gervinho has not been completed in time for him to join the party."

Emmanuel Eboue and Abou Diaby miss out through injury, while Lukasz Fabianski is short of fitness. Manuel Almunia and Nicklas Bendtner are left behind, while Henri Lansbury is still on holiday after his involvement with England Under-21s at the European U21 Championship in Denmark last month.

Wenger added: "The Premier League is very popular in Asia and Arsenal are a very popular team in Asia. Many of the players have never been there so we are very excited about it. It is a good experience for the team.

"You expect to see many Arsenal fans and, from our side, we expect to give fun, pleasure and enjoyment to the people who come and watch us play."

The Gunners face a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (kick-off 1.45pm BST) before meeting Hangzhou Greentown in China on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm BST).

Arsenal Asia tour party: Wojciech Szczesny, Vito Mannone; Sebastien Squillaci, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Armand Traore, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna; Alex Song, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin; Marouane Chamakh, Ryo Miyaichi, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Robin van Persie.