Arsenal Squad Reportedly Hit With Food Poisoning In China

The Arsenal squad were reportedly hit with a
bout of food poisoning in China causing Per
Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud to miss the
victory over Bayern Munich.
Arsenal’s squad has been hit by a bout of
food poisoning in China, Dailymail
UK exclusively reports.
Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud were
unable to take part in a 1-1 draw against
Bayern Munich. Sead Kolasinac started but
was forced off in the first-half after throwing
up on the pitch.
Arsenal won in a penalty shoot-out to decide
the winning team but were more concerned
about the lengthy casualty list.
Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey were also
unwell but able to come on from the bench.
One of the backroom staff has also been
suffering from sickness.
Laurent Koscielny was absent with a back
problem and assistant manager Steve Bould
has been flown home after requiring surgery
in Australia to cure a hernia in his neck.
‘We have a virus in the camp,’ said
Wenger. ‘The doctor thinks it is food
poisoning. Mertesacker and Giroud were sick.
Kolasinac was sick. Theo Walcott and Aaron
have had a little bit of food poisoning as well.
I don’t know what they ate.’
The stifling heat of Shanghai, where
temperatures have been touching 40C,
combined with the gruelling pre-season
training sessions has tested the players.
‘It was a shock to come from Australia where
we were freezing,’ said Wenger. ‘We decided
to work very hard on Monday and Tuesday
and so I was a bit scared that we could have
big problems.
‘In the first-half we suffered a bit and second-
half we were shaper and Bayern dropped as
well. We had to dig deep and think we will
benefit from it.’
It raises questions about the sense of
travelling the world while preparing for the
season. Arsenal will move on to Beijing where
they face Chelsea on Saturday in the fourth
and final game of their tour.
Wenger said: ‘If you ask me is it an ideal way
to prepare physically, I say certainly not.
Does it have other advantages? Yes, because
we can meet fans from all over the world. The
bonding is easier because we live together for
two weeks. On that front it can be positive.
But the real answer will be given by the way
we start in the championship.’
It was a tiny revenge for last season’s 10-
goal drubbing against Bayern over two legs in
the Champions League but Wenger refused to
read too fat into it.
‘I don’t think this kind of games wipe out
what happened last season,’ said the Arsenal
boss. ‘We will always remember that. We had
a nightmare last season in the second-half.