Arsenal players hit by food poisoning in China

Arsenal’s coach, Arsene Wenger, claimed that food poisoning has dampened the mood in the team’s camp on their pre-season tour in China.

Per Mertesacker and Oliver Giroud missed the friendly match against Bayern Munich because of illness. Also, Sead Kolasinac, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey mentioned not feeling well during and after the game.

Wenger: Extensive traveling isn’t “ideal physically”

According to Wenger, the sickness that hit the Arsenal camp, teamed with the high temperatures in China and the long flights, are not ideal for a preparation campaign.

“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.

'I was a bit scared that tonight we could have big problems and in fact in the first half we suffered a bit,' said the Frenchman.

'Ramsey finished the game, but Walcott, Kolasinac, Mertesacker, Giroud, they all had a little food poisoning.'

He also mentioned that the extreme climate in Shanghai was “a shock” after flying from Australia, Southern Hemisphere country which is in its winter.

“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.”

The high temperature and humidity made it tough for the Gunners in today’s match, as they played poorly in the first half, but still managed to win the match 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

Arsenal overcome Bayern

Just nine minutes after the kick-off, Robert Lewandowski put the German Champions ahead from the penalty spot. Bayern Munich dominated most of the match, however, Alex Iwobi levelled with a last-minute header to make the game 1-1.

Iwobi’s leveller took the game to a shootout, where Arsenal’s substitute keeper, Emiliano Martinez, was the hero, saving two spot kicks.

Penalties: Bayern Munich 2 - 3 Arsenal

The Gunner’s victory can be considered a slight revenge over last season’s disasterous 10-goal defeat against Bayern over two legs in the UEFA Champions League.

“I don't think this kind of games wipe out what happened last season,' said Wenger. 'We will always remember that. We had a nightmare last season in the second-half.

“But it's still good to win against a team like Bayern. It can help confidence and we have to continue to prepare well. We have been away for 11 days and it helps us push on into the last step”.