Atletico Madrid, PSG And Rangers Join Arsenal In Emirates Cup

Hosts Arsenal will play alongside Atletico Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Rangers in the Emirates Cup this summer.

The competition has been running for two summer in north London with Hamburg the current defending champions.



The German side will not get a chance to defend their crown
this year though as Atletico Madrid and Rangers make their debuts, alongside PSG.

The French outfit were part of the inaugural tournament along with Arsenal, Inter Milan and Spanish giants Valencia.

The competition lasts for two days and starts on August 1, with PSG meeting Rangers and then Arsenal taking on Atletico Madrid.

The next day, Atletico will face PSG, before Arsenal draw the curtain on the event by playing against Rangers.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis told BBC Sport that he expects the tournament to be a competitive start to the pre-season.

"Rangers, Atletico Madrid and PSG will contribute to an exciting weekend of pre-season football," he said.

"The tournament will provide a very competitive level of preparation for all the teams ahead of the 2009-10 season."

Rangers boss Walter Smith agreed with Gazidis and declared that his team are looking forward to taking part.

"The Emirates Cup will capture the imagination of our supporters and everyone at the club is looking forward to competing against Arsenal and PSG," he mused.

"Arsene Wenger's side are one of the best in Europe and their young team will provide a stiff test for our players.

"However, it is a challenge they will all relish and our fans will enjoy both matches at the state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium."