MLS All-Stars’ David Villa, right, of New York City FC, makes a scissor kick next to Arsenal’s Mathieu Debuchy during the first half of the MLS All-Star Game Thursday, July 28, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. “That’s my intention and I’ll pass that on to the players”. It’s a big ask, but you look at the Premier League and every club is hugely ambitious.
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HollywoodLifers, are you looking forward to the MLS All-Stars versus Arsenal match?
The next year was the first time a foreign club was brought in, with MLS beating Chivas Guadalajara 3-1. But such as time travel hasn’t quite been perfected yet, a star-laden event like this is the best for which we can hope.
In 2006 it was two-time England champion Chelsea but in 2008 it was boring West Ham.
MLS teams are 9-4-1 and have outscored opponents 25-23 in the league’s summer showcase event, including a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur past year in Colorado.
Arsenal, missing most of its regular starters, went with a combination of veterans, bench players and U23 team members, including 19-year-old Gedion Zelalem. The team also saw 14 of its players represent their countries in major summer competitions this year. Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesaker, Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny will not be playing. This week, English Premier League power Arsenal will join that list of vaunted opponents when they play their second preseason match of the summer in Northern California.
Whether or not the Gunners win Thursday is meaningless. “They have won the games most of the times”, Wenger said.
But Arsenal was more effective than the MLS offensively.
What commissioner Don Garber and the league need to do is return to the game being a true All-Star Game.
Wenger’s men will conclude their USA trip with a match against Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara on Monday. Giovinco was the only TFC player named to the team this season. Farrell is the first Revs player to appear in this game since Shalrie Joseph in 2011 though Chris Tierney was named to the 2015 roster he was unable to play due to injury. The north London club will come against former foe Didier Drogba, who is likely to lead the line along with David Villa, while Kaka and Andrea Pirlo will start in midfield.
“The league is getting better”, Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi said of the MLS.
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The answer is that MLS is a business and needs to sell its brand.
