New signing Pablo Zabaleta says he can’t wait to get his West Ham career underway this pre-season and looks forward to facing his old club Manchester City.
The Hammers play Pep Guardiola’s City side in Iceland on Augusth 4th in Reykjavik as the final game of the club’s pre-season tour of Europe. The tie will be the first time in history two Premier League sides have ever faced off in Iceland.
Speaking on whufc.com, Zabaleta said: “Of course it will be interesting to face my former club, so soon after leaving, but more importantly, I am looking forward to playing with my new team-mates, and it will be a great test for us one week before the start of the season.”
The Argentine, who signed on free transfer after spending 9 seasons with the Sky Blues, added: “It will also be a great honour for West Ham and City to be the first English Premier League clubs to play each other in Iceland. We all saw how well Iceland did in the European Championships last year – they made a lot of friends and it is clear they are a nation who love football.
“We will be proud to represent the Premier League, and I hope we can give the supporters an entertaining match.”
Zabaleta will begin work with his new team-mates on July 5th when the Hammers return for pre-season. Slaven Bilic’s men first travel to Austria in mid-July, before heading to Germany and finishing in Iceland.
