Arsenal seats the hot ticket with Sydney games set to go on sale

The allure of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal has organisers confident that tickets for the English giant’s two-game Australia tour next July will be an almost instant sell-out when they go on sale on Tuesday.

Match agent Lou Sticca – the mover and shaker responsible for bringing Chelsea and Tottenham to Sydney's ANZ Stadium last year for games against Sydney FC – is convinced the Gunners will prove every bit as irresistible for their clash against the Sky Blues and the duel with Western Sydney Wanderers at the same venue on Thursday 13 July, 2017, and Saturday 15 July.

Dubbed the ‘Arsenal in Sydney Tour’, ANZ Stadium will be transformed into a carbon copy of The Emirates Stadium.  Gunners fans will be designated an area of the stadium in homage to their hallowed North Bank in what has been dubbed the 'Emirates experience'.

Meanwhile, fans of Sydney FC and the Wanderers will be at the opposite end of the stadium in the "Clock End", the zone of the Emirates reserved for visiting fans as a full-strength Arsenal prepare to hit Australia for the first time in 40 years.

"As we saw last year with Chelsea and Tottenham, two sell-outs at the stadium in matter of three days, it just goes to show the appetite Australian have for the big EPL clubs – and Arsenal are right up there," said Sticca.

"They have a massive following in Australia. They are one of the most high-profile clubs in the world thanks to the Arsene Wenger effect. Our research tells us they are probably the second most popular EPL team in Australia."

While Wenger has hinted he might accept the vacant England job, he has also insisted that he will not renege on his contract, which still has a year to run - meaning he will almost certainly be at the helm when Arsenal touch down.

Ahead of him, the club have sent Gunners legend Freddie Ljungberg to promote their tour, and he arrived in Sydney on Tuesday for a whirlwind visit.

“Arsene Wenger revolutionised the way Arsenal play and produced a style that is one of best on the Continent," added Sticca.

"The club is famous for some massive stars of the past like Thierry Henry and Denis Bergkamp and really set so many trends in the EPL.”

While 12 months is an eternity in football, at this stage Arsenal – who haven’t finished below fourth place in last 20 years in the EPL - will feature big guns like Alexis Sanchez - Chile's player of the tournament as they took out the Copa America - European Championship finalists Oliver Giraud and Laurent Koscieny, German genius Mesut Ozil, Welsh wizard Aaron Ramsey and England’s Jack Wilshire and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

"It’s a classic case of the EPL, because of the visibility on TV over the last 10 years, calling in to most households," said Sticca.

"Everybody knows what’s going on there, so many world stars play there and that’s made it the league spoken about more than any other in mainstream media.

"So many Aussies go to London and Arsenal is a club which attracts people who may not be born football fans but want to get along to the Emirates to sample the local sports life ... and now they are coming here."

Sticca sees no end in sight to the 'who’s who' of English football coming for money spinning tours of Australia in the wake of visits by Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea – and now Arsenal

Australians are getting used to then calibre of these teams coming out, they are enjoying it and I think going forward we'll continue to see it happening on a regular basis," he said.

"At the moment the market wants it, and we’re trying to deliver what they want. We have a few others in the pipeline also."

While some local critics label the tours as vehicles for Euro snobs to thumb their noses at the A-league, Sticca sees only upside for all stakeholders.

“Our model has always involved local opposition and has brought A-league clubs international exposure, and opened up discussion in mainstream media," he declared. "It provides visibility for A-League teams, which has to be a good thing.”

Tickets start at $39, with family passes from $99.

Roy Hodgson monitoring Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of Euro 2016 decision

England manager Roy Hodgson has been regularly checking in on Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as he considers his squad for Euro 2016.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been recovering from a knee injury suffered against Barcelona in the Champions League in March, is set to play for the Arsenal Under-21s against Blackburn on Tuesday night.

The England boss will reveal the 23 names included in his Euro 2016 squad on May 12, and it is believed that Arsenal’s 22-year-old winger has a real chance of being included – if he can prove his fitness in time, according to the Mirror.

Hodgson, a long-term admirer of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s ability, took the former Southampton player to Euro 2012 Poland and Ukraine and made his debut in the warm-up games before the tournament.

After missing out on the Brazil World Cup through injury two years ago, Oxlade-Chamberlain will be desperate to play his way back in to the squad, leaving Theo Walcott’s position in danger.

71 touches, 7 take-ons: Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain superb on international duty

Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was superb for England on Monday night.

Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain produced an excellent performance for England on Monday night as they crushed a poor Lithuania side 3-0.

With qualification already assured, England boss Roy Hodgson went for an experimental XI including Oxlade-Chamberlain acting as a wide forward with Jamie Vardy on the opposite flank.

The 22-year-old is versatile and can play in a number of positions in the final third, providing pace in wide areas or the option of directness and a sense of urgency through the middle.

Against Lithuania, he was tasked with the former and really put his opponents to the sword, topping off a superb outing with England‘s third and final goal in a dominant victory.

	Goals	Shots	Key Passes	Take-ons	Touches	Accurate Passes	Tackles	Mins Played
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	1	2	1	7	71	45	3	90

As per the table provided by Opta Stats, Oxlade-Chamberlain shone in a number of key attacking areas.

Aside from his well-taken goal, the Gunners’ ace tested Lithuania shot-stopper Giedrius Arlauskis twice, created one chance via a key pass and completed a team-high seven successful take-ons.

In possession, Oxlade-Chamberlain was assured as he took 71 touches and made 45 accurate passes, all while remembering his defensive duties with an impressive three tackles.

It has been a highly positive international break for the Gunners with Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott and now Oxlade-Chamberlain finding the net while no injuries were suffered.

The North Londoners resume action this Saturday against Watford and boss Arsene Wenger will have one big selection headache with a number of players impressing over the past few days.

Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wants Thierry Henry master-class to get the goals flowing

Midfielder has NEVER scored for the club in a competitive away game and hopes tips from the Gunners icon will make him a regular for them and England.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will tap up Thierry Henry for advice after admitting that he is painfully aware of his lack of Arsenal goals.

The England wideman has NEVER scored in a competitive away match in more than four years as a Gunner – all 13 of his goals have come at the Emirates.

And Oxlade-Chamberlain, who netted his fifth England goal in Monday’s 3-0 victory over Lithuania that completed the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, knows he has to improve in that area if he is to nail down regular starts for Arsene Wenger’s team.

That will mean seeking a master-class from Gunners legend Henry, who is working with his old club’s Under-18s in-between TV punditry shifts and has also already helped Theo Walcott to improve his goals output.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 22, said: “I might have to have a few words with Thierry. I think there’s no better man to advise you on how to get a goal here or there.

Thierry Henry's career in pictures:

“My goals record is definitely something I think of. It’s something, as an attacking player, you have to be aware of.

“You can’t force it too much because you start to do the wrong things on the pitch if you try to force shots that are not on but it is definitely something I think about and work on.

“I watch games back and see positions, it’s more so for me getting in the right positions to score the ‘easy’ goals as they say. There’s no easy goals but the tap-ins at the back post and stuff like that.

“That’s something I’m more conscious of. It’s definitely something I’m aware of so if I am able to get on the score-sheet like in Lithuania it’s something I’m happy about it.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain started in Roy Hodgson’s experimental side in Vilnius – and has netted three times away from home for England – including a memorable strike against Brazil in the iconic Maracana.

But he knows he will face stiff competition to feature in next summer’s finals in France.

Away daze: Oxlade-Chamberlain can score on the road for England but not for Arsenal

He said: “There are a few lads injured that are big players who I am sure will come back to play for their clubs and be right back in around the England squad. It’s always been like that and it’s a credit to the strength in the country at the moment.

“A lot of the youth are coming through and really staking their claim for places in the squad and starting eleven.

"It’s always hard competition for a place and that is the best way to get the best performances out of the boys and to keep us competitive, moving on towards France.

“It’s not for me to say whether I have done enough to stay in the team. Every time I come and try to work hard in training and when I get opportunities try to work hard and do the things the boss asks us to do.

"All I can do is keep doing that, trying to get goals, help the team going forward, that’s one of my main roles but also respecting my defensive jobs as well.”

In pictures — Oxlade-Chamberlain scores as England win in Lithuania:

England now face friendlies with back-to-back Euros winners Spain and Euro 2016 hosts France next month, as they step up in class having finished with a 100 per cent record in a weak qualification group.

And the Ox said: “It’s definitively not a bad thing.

"We need to compete against these top teams and go and win against these teams if we want to do well in tournaments. We are all looking forward to that.

"We need to put in some good performances against those good teams because we know they have got the ability in their squad to punish us as well.”