Sundram plans to give Arsenal a good match
Singapore Selection coach wants to give Wenger's men a good game
Many have joked about the Gunners running up a rugby score when the two sides meet, others say it is a mismatch and the kinder critics proclaim it is a game for the local side to learn.
A Singapore Selection side take on mighty Arsenal, the FA Cup champions, at 8pm tomorrow night at the National Stadium in the second of a double-header on the opening day of the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy and V Sundramoorthy is not bothered with the views of the critics.
"It's their opinion, we just want to give (Arsenal) a good game," said the Singapore Selection coach (top).
"Either way, it's always nice to play against top teams and test our ability.
"We're preparing well. When you go out onto the field, it's 11 against 11. It doesn't matter who your opponents are.
"If, on that day, you put up a show, then you can upset the odds.
"That's the most important thing. We have to go out onto the pitch and do our best and try to win the game, not just against Arsenal, but also in the second game on Saturday."
The biennial four-team pre-season friendly tournament will see Stoke take on Everton in the opener at 6pm tomorrow.
The two winning teams will meet in the final on Saturday, while the losing sides will meet in the play-off for third earlier on the same day.
The last time a Singapore Selection side were assembled, it was last August, when Italian champions Juventus, with the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Giorgio Chellini and Gianluigi Buffon, put Bernd Stange's men to the sword in a 5-0 win.
FOREIGN ADDITIONS
In this quadrangular, stars like Arsenal's Mesut Oezil and Santi Cazorla, Everton's Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, and Stoke's Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch, and Singapore's very own Khairul Amri, are set to rock the 55,000-capacity arena with top-class football.
And Sundram, with a strong squad that also feature foreign attackers Rodrigo Tosi and Nicolas Velez, of Tampines Rovers and Warriors FC respectively, is relishing the prospect.
"We have the foreign players with us to add some strength to the team that we already have," said Sundram.
"Players like Tosi, Velez, (Home United's Sirina) Camara and Kento (Fukuda, of Geylang International) will boost our prospects.
"The teams who are coming here are excellent sides from one of the best leagues in the world, if not the best, so it will be very exciting."
With some talk that Sundram is one of the prospects to coach the national team in the future, there is no better test of his calibre than going up against the likes of Arsenal luminary, Arsene Wenger.
"These three are the biggest coaches I've faced in a while," he said, also referring to Stoke's Mark Hughes and Everton's Roberto Martinez.
"The last time I led a team out against a top side was against Atletico Madrid (a 2-0 loss in 2013 for the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Charity Cup) and I was up against Diego Simeone.
"He's a coach who I really rate very highly and we didn't do too badly against them that time.
"Arsenal play attractive football, and that's a treat for the fans, and an experience to play against.
"As a coach, it's good to go up against Mark Hughes, (Arsene) Wenger and (Roberto) Martinez.
"They are reputable and experienced coaches who I can learn from."
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