One of the fiercest rivalries in European football is coming to Beijing, with Arsenal and Chelsea set to face off at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on July 22. The pre-season friendly will be the first time the London teams have faced each other outside Britain.
Taking place just two weeks before the start of the 2017/18 season, the match will offer fans a look at how the teams are shaping up for their league campaigns. Chelsea are currently nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, while Arsenal sit in fourth place.
Although Arsenal fans traditionally consider fellow north Londoners Tottenham Hotspur to be their main rivals, they named Chelsea as their least favorite club in a 2009 survey. In the same study, Chelsea fans named Arsenal as their second most-disliked team, behind Liverpool.
Chinese football fans will hope to avoid the disappointment of last year’s hotly anticipated derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City. The game was cancelled at the last minute due to heavy rainstorms and poor pitch conditions at the 80,000-seat Bird's Nest.
Pitch conditions at the Bird's Nest Stadium forced the cancellation of the Manchester Derby last summer
The fixture will mark Chelsea’s first ever trip to Beijing, although they have a good record on Chinese soil. In 2008, the west London side won matches in Guangzhou and Macau before lifting the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong three years later.
Arsenal last played in Beijing in 2012, losing 2-0 to Manchester City. They’re scheduled to arrive here following games in Australia against Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.
Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte told the club’s website: “We are happy to be travelling to China for another exciting match in the summer. I have seen already the passion our supporters have for Chelsea here in England and last summer in America, and I believe our fans in China will show the same intensity when we are in Beijing.”
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