English Premier League side Arsenal FC will be opponents in this year’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game, sources familiar with the deal say. athletic Sunday evening. These sources were not authorized to speak about their opponents and requested anonymity to protect their relationship with the league.
Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League, eight points behind Manchester City with 10 games remaining. The owner of Arsenal is Mr. Stan Kroenke, owner of MLS Colorado his Rapids.
This year’s game will take place on July 19th at DC United’s Audi Field in Washington, DC. Traditionally, the host city coach serves as his MLS All-Star coach. England legend Wayne Rooney is now the head coach of DC United and will oversee the MLS team and former Premier League rivals.
Rooney himself inadvertently revealed his attendance at the Arsenal match during Thursday night’s fan event, multiple people who attended the event said.
In front of a group of season ticket holders, Rooney mentioned the All-Star Game when asked if he could arrange a friendly against Manchester United…the Champions League. Rooney responded by joking that Manchester United would be happy to play for D.C., as the city deserves to welcome a big club, unlike Arsenal, opponents in this year’s All-Star Game. .
Rooney actually played for the MLS All-Stars in 2011, which Manchester United won 4-0, and made it to the MLS All-Stars in 2019, losing 3-0 to Atlético Madrid.
The match against Arsenal is a return to the best form of MLS against major European club teams. In the last two years the MLS All-Stars have faced off against the Liga MX All-Stars, but with the appearance of the Campeones Cup and Leagues His Cup in the last two years, the league has no shortage of engagements with Mexican teams. fan base.
This isn’t the first time MLS have faced Arsenal in the All-Star Game. In 2016, the league’s brightest team, he lost 2-1 to the Gunners in San Jose, California. Didier Drogba scored the lone goal for the MLS All-Stars, while Joel Campbell and Chuva Akpon scored for Arsenal.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber first mentioned the change at last year’s All-Star Game.
“I don’t know if the All-Star Game needs that [in 2023]”There’s the Campiones Cup in New York City in September. So we’ll see what happens next year when Washington, D.C., hosts D.C. United, but well.” don’t understand.”
MLS has experimented with different formats for the All-Star Game. In the early days of the league, they pitted league meetings against each other before deciding to welcome guest teams into the mix. The MLS also created a single edition in 2002, with the MLS All-Stars playing against the US Men’s National Team, with the league splitting its All-Stars into domestic players and “overseas” import players. 1998 game.
The All-Stars have played seven Premier League teams since 2005: Fulham, Chelsea, West Ham, Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. In those games they have him 5 wins and 4 losses.
(Photo: Eddie Keogh / UEFA via Getty Images)
