Aaron Ramsey Arsenal Jordan Henderson Liverpool
“It’s a great test for us before the season starts, even though we’ll still be building up for then. It will be nice to get that competitive football.” - Aaron Ramsey Reuters

Arsenal playmaker Aaron Ramsey believes that fixtures in the Emirates Cup will be a good preparation for the Gunners for the upcoming season.

The north Londoners will be facing tough adversary in Monaco - who were runners-up in the Ligue 1 - and Benfica - who made it to the finals of the 2013/14 edition of the Europa League.

"The Emirates Cup always brings good teams who have played at the highest level and this year it's no different. Both teams have some really good players," the 23-year-old Welshman told Arsenal.com.

"It's a great test for us before the season starts, even though we'll still be building up for then. It will be nice to get that competitive football."

"It's a great tournament. It gets all the fans excited because they know that the season is not too far away. It's a good couple of days and all of the players are looking forward to coming back and playing at the Emirates again."

"It's also good for younger players to get opportunities to show what they can do against these teams. It's nice for the fans to get the chance to see these young players coming through as well."

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