The Gunners: Arsenal entourage members (from left) team manager Arsene Wenger, chief executive Ivan Gazidis, players Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott hold the match banner during a media conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Friday
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Arsenal arrived in Jakarta on Friday, promising to entertain the crowd against the Indonesia Dream Team.
'We will show you the kind of football that we love and I'm sure you will enjoy as well,' team manager Arsene Wenger during a press conference upon their arrival at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, East Jakarta.
The 63 year old manager of the Gunners since 1996, said that they were very happy to be in Indonesia as most of their current players had never been to Indonesia.
The team received a warm welcome from their Indonesian fans, who flocked to the entrance of the airport around two hours before they arrived.
Most of the fans were dressed in the club's red and white jerseys. They also displayed banners, scarfs and other accessories while they shouted the club's fanchants, and turned the usually quiet airport into much livelier place.
The plane touched down at around 3:30 p.m., carrying an entourage comprised of 80 members and duly held a press conference at the airport's lounge.
Arsenal brought a nearly complete squad, although Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Yaya Sanogo, Thomas Vermaelen and Gervais Yao Kouassi aka Gervinho, were not with the team due to either injury or illness.
The team is scheduled to hold an open training session for fans at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, a pre-match fan carnival ' Arsenal Asia Tour Jakarta at Plaza Tenggara Senayan and a coaching clinic on Saturday before facing the Indonesia Dream team on Sunday.
Arsenal has failed to win the English Premier League since 2004.
The game will be shown live on RCTI on Sunday.
'We received such wonderful welcome here in Indonesia. We haven't been here for 30 years and that's far too long,' said Ivan Gazidis, the club's Chief Executive.
He said when Arsenal was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the Asia Tour last year, they met many Indonesian fans traveling to the country to watch the team.
'That's when we knew that we had to come to Indonesia,' he said.
Moreover, the team has more Facebook followers in Indonesia than any where else in the world.
'We're happy that those fans will have a chance to see the team in action, to meet the players and to attend the [match] event. We're looking forward to our game in Jakarta'.
Arsenal's central midfielder Jack Wilshere also expressed his excitement to meet Indonesian fans who strongly supported him and the team.
'I have a lot of Indonesian followers in my personal Twitter account. We know that you wake up in the middle of the night to watch our games. I hope we can see you on Sunday and give a good performance for you,' he said.
The noted forward Theo Walcott also said that he was looking forward to meeting the fans and added that he would like them to introduce him to Indonesian food and culture.
Arsenal is the first of three English Premier teams to play against local teams in Jakarta this month, with Liverpool scheduled to play at Bung Karno on July 20, followed by Chelsea on July 25.
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