Arsenal FC have been announced as the opponents for the MLS All Stars game to be held in San Jose Earthquakes’ Avaya Stadium on 28th July 2016.
This game will be a part of the pre-season tour 2016 of Arsenal FC. Last year Tottenham Hotspur faced the MLS All-Stars team during their preseason tour and lost 2-1.
Apart from this game, Arsenal FC will also be facing Mexican club Chivas at StubHub Center in Los Angeles as part of their preseason tour in Los Angeles on July 31.
Speaking about their preseason tours, Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger said according to ESPN, “Preseason is a critically important time for us, and we are delighted to be going to San Jose and Los Angeles to participate in the 2016 MLS All-Star game and to play Chivas.”
Having won 13 first-tier English League titles, 13 FA Cups, 2 English Cups, and 14 Community Shields, Arsenal enjoy immense support in the USA.
“We have tremendous support across America and enjoyed our visit to New York in the summer of 2014 when we played the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. We look forward to giving our U.S. fans the chance to see the team play live,” he added.
These will be the only two games the Gunners play out of Europe as part of the Pre-season tour
Mark Abbott, MLS deputy commissioner, said, “We’re thrilled to be able to welcome Arsenal this summer for a number of reasons. Not only are they one of the top clubs in the world, which continues our tradition of having high-level competition for the AT&T MLS All-Star Game. There are a number of deep connections between Arsenal and our league.”
Two important people in the administration at Arsenal FC have prior or existing connections with the MLS. Stan Kroenke, majority shareholder of Arsenal FC, also owns Colorado Rockets and Gunner’s CEO Ivan Gazidis was formerly the Deputy Commissioner of MLS. Manchester United have previously beaten the MLS All-Stars team in 2010 and 2011.
