Arsene Wenger has reopened the bitter debate about the forthcoming French friendly on the other side of the world, claiming he has the support of 11 major clubs.

French sports paper L'Equipe lists the following clubs as having signed his petition: Man Utd, Chelsea, Fulham, Leeds, Juventus, Roma, Parma, Real Madrid, Marseille and Bayern Munich. So that doesn't leave much of a French squad, does it? (Still it's a guaranteed recall for Nicolas Anelka!)

'I am being up front about what everybody else thinks deep down,' he said. 'Nobody else in Europe thinks this trip makes sense.'

Roger Lemerre is to announce his squad for the game on October 30, less than a fortnight away.