Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says its the right time to take his squad to Nigeria.

This summer during July Arsenal will visit Malaysia, China - where they will play Manchester City at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing - and Hong Kong, then travel off again to Nigeria in early August.

Wenger said: "We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season.

"We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour. 'But we are in a race with the other clubs as well. I realised when I was at the World Cup in South Africa how popular a club like Arsenal is in Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is unbelievable.

"I was even frightened at some stage by how popular Arsenal is. In Kenya as well, it is absolutely unbelievable."