Bird’s Nest awaits London derby with renovated pitch
China’s National Stadium – the Bird’s Nest – is set to host a London derby on July 22, with Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea facing off each other in a preseason buildup.
Last year, the stadium was to host a high- profile Manchester derby, but later the match was marred by a pitch problem which finally led to the cancelation of the derby.
The pitch was deemed unplayable due to continuous rain in the capital in the summer last year, making parts of the pitch saturated.
The organizers hope to use this year’s London derby to restore the reputation of the pitch condition at Bird’s Nest.
“We invited the officials from both clubs to Bird’s Nest to check if the renovated pitch meets the requirement, and they approved the current condition,” said Zhang Zhenpeng, a senior official with the organizing committee.
Under Italian coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea are the current leaders of the English top flight, while the Gunners, currently sitting seventh on the table, may have a new coach coming this summer as longtime manager Arsene Wenger is highly likely to leave the North London club at the end of the current campaign.
Though the organizers have put Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez on the giant poster, the Chile forward is unlikely to make the trip as the Copa America champions will be playing in the Confederations Cup in Russia from June 17 to July 2.
Chelsea’s Diego Costa – who is also on the poster – is in talks for a move to a Chinese club, Sky Sports reported last week.
The two sides will face each other in the FA Cup final next month at Wembley in London.