SINGAPORE -- Everton are ready to meet the challenge of facing Arsenal's stars in Saturday's Barclays Asia Trophy final in Singapore, manager Roberto Martinez says.
Arsenal are set to field a lineup featuring several big-name players, with new goalkeeper Petr Cech in line to make his debut for the Gunners following his summer move from Chelsea. But Martinez insists that his players are aiming to cause an upset as they prepare for the new Premier League campaign.
"This is the preseason, the main purpose of which is to raise the fitness levels of our players going into the start of the season," Martinez told his prematch news conference ahead of the game at the 55,000-capacity Singapore National Stadium at the Sports Hub.
"It is great to be able to play Premier League opposition and Stoke gave us a tough game on Wednesday. We are now ready to take on Arsenal. Ultimately, we are here to win."
Asked whether it would be strange to see Cech lined up against them in an Arsenal shirt, Martinez said: "Sometimes, the new season throws up such situations.
"Players who have been associated with a club for many years suddenly move to a rival and this will take getting used to. But we are ready to face a full Arsenal side including Cech."
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku played for 90 minutes against Stoke, though he missed an easy chance in the last minute of regular time, and Martinez claimed that he could complete another full match, saying: "We would like to play him for the full 90 minutes in the final but will assess him."
While the boss also has high hopes on new summer signing Gerard Deulofeu in spite of the former Barcelona winger's lack of competitive football last season on loan at Sevilla.
"Gerrard has shown how good he is during his last stint at Goodison Park," he added. "He has pace and incredible skills and it is just a matter of time for him to pick up confidence. I am sure having Seamus Coleman behind him will give him a huge boost."
Martinez, 43, led the Toffees to a fifth-place finish in the 2013-14 season, amassing a club-record Premier League points total in his very first season since taking over from the long-serving David Moyes. However, last season was not smooth sailing as they could only finish 11th.
"We had a lot of injury and fitness related problems and we began the season poorly," Martinez said. "Players were coming back after the World Cup and were not in peak physical condition. This time, we'll be better prepared as we are here for a proper preseason.
"We need to hit the ground running at the start of the season as we will be playing last season's top seven teams in our first 10 matches."
The Everton boss admitted that winning a major trophy in 2015-16 would also be a target, as is competing for the European places, saying: "It is a long time since we won a cup -- the FA Cup in 1995 was our last success. So we are eager to end the dearth of silverware."
Meanwhile, defender Coleman, 26, insisted he was happy to play in front of passionate Singapore fans.
"It has been a great preseason experience," the Republic of Ireland international said. "It is great to experience the level of in-depth knowledge people over here have about the Premier League. I am hopeful we will go on to win the tournament and start the season on a high."