by Nia Griffiths

Mathieu Debuchy has said that Arsenal have to be ready for the Premier League when it starts.

Last season, we were pretty inconsistent and it was this that led to us not legitimately competing for the title. The right-back reckons if we can make a strong start, we’ll be on the right track. The defender, who missed a lot of last season due to injury, also wants to get a good pre-season under his belt in order to challenge for his position in the starting 11.

Speaking recently, Debuchy said, “I need to have a good pre-season. It was a hard year last year and I need to do some hard training to be fit for the first game.”

He went on to highlight the importance of having Premier League opposition during this pre-season period. We’re due to play the Barclays Asia Trophy this July, which Everton and Stoke City are also playing in.

He admitted, “It’s also important for us to play Premier League teams like Stoke City and Everton because in one month we will play in the Premier League and we need to be ready.”

It’s a good point. Facing Premier League opposition will gives us a good idea of where we are at the moment and where we need to be for the start of the season. Hopefully we learn from it.