This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jul/28/mls-all-stars-v-arsenal-live
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| MLS All-Stars v Arsenal – live! | MLS All-Stars v Arsenal – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.14am BST | |
| 00:14 | |
| Arsenal | |
| Goalkeepers (3): Petr Cech, Emiliano Martinez, David Ospina | |
| Defenders (7): Hector Bellerin, Krystian Bielik, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal | |
| Midfielders (9): Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Chris Willock, Jack Wilshere, Granit Xhaka, Gedion Zelalem | |
| Forwards (4): Chuba Akpom, Joel Campbell, Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott | |
| So, word is Coquelin will be starting in the center of defense in what is otherwise a full-strength Arsenal team. | |
| Obviously by saying “full strength” I am choosing to ignore the fact that thanks to the Euros there’s no Giroud, Mertesacker (injured), Koscielny, Ozil, or Ramsey. And no Gunnersaurus. | |
| But the Red on the Arsenal shirts is in no way faded for tonight’s game (even before you adjust the saturation on your TV to Ronaldo/Conor McGregor levels). So full strength-ish. Look, it’s a friendly... | |
| It’s understandable. With the English season two weeks away and players recuperating from tournament play, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the squad Wenger has chosen to bring to the West coast of the USA. It will be interesting to see how he assembles his starting line up though — the first half is likely the nearest we’ll have to a competitive game, before the second half devolves into a flurry of obligatory substitute cameos to give the assistant referee board-hoisting cramp. More on all that in a second, as team news is just coming through... | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.17am BST | |
| 12.06am BST | |
| 00:06 | |
| The All-Star squad | |
| Goalkeepers (2): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union) | |
| Defenders (7): Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact), Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution), Liam Ridgewell (Portland Timbers), Keegan Rosenberry (Philadelphia Union), Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps) | |
| Midfielders (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Mauro Diaz (FC Dallas), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Kaká (Orlando City), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC) | |
| Forwards (7): Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Cyle Larin (Orlando City), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact), David Villa (New York City FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) | |
| This is a young All-Star squad, with a couple of obvious exceptions in Drogba and Pirlo. Andre Blake has had a great second season in goal for Philadelphia and Brandon Vincent is seeing plenty of action trying to keep Chicago Fire in games in his debut season. | |
| In midfield, if you’re not familiar with MLS but know the US national team, you’ll recognize the likes of Kyle Beckman and Jermaine Jones from World Cup action, but also keep an eye out for Mauro Diaz — Dallas’s little wizard of a playmaker. And this is where Giovani dos Santos went. And Kaka. | |
| Up front Sebastian Giovinco broke records in his debut season for Toronto last year and while he’s not been setting such a stellar pace this time around, he’s still single-handedly responsible for anything good his team does. David Villa too, has driven New York City FC to the top of the Eastern Conference standings halfway through the season, while Ignacio Patti has been in great form scoring goals for Montreal, as well as making them for Didier Drogba. Drogba actually went through a bit of a goal drought of late, but he got a hat trick in his last game, so that’s alright then. Oh, and so did Giovinco. It was that sort of weekend. | |
| Couple of notable omissions though. Colorado have had an extraordinary defensive record this season, but being more of a collective wall than a collection of standout individuals, none of their defenders were singled out for All-Star honors, which is a shame. And Diego Valeri, playmaker for the champion Portland Timbers, is an inexplicable absence. | |
| 11.55pm BST | |
| 23:55 | |
| Avaya Stadium | |
| Two facts about the Avaya Stadium: | |
| 1) Its stands have the steepest rake of any stadium in MLS | |
| 2) It features the longest outdoor bar in North America — known in social media circuits as LOBINA | |
| so 1) Mind your step 2) especially if you’ve just been to LOBINA. | |
| Also, relating to part 2, is there a longer bar in South or Central America that necessitates the modifier of “North”? Is a bartender in Honduras sneering at the TV coverage of the All-Star game at the other end of the bar, half a mile away? We should be told. | |
| 11.45pm BST | |
| 23:45 | |
| Preamble | |
| Evening all. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED! | |
| It’s the MLS All-Star game — in which a selection of the league’s best and brightest take a break from their regular season to battle against a bemused European opponent who will most likely be regarding the shiny numbers on the back of the hosts’ shirts through pre-season sunglasses. | |
| The All-Star team is selected by the entirely scientific method of a fan vote, some video gaming, a guest head coach, and the whim of the MLS Commissioner, all within a world where there’s no such things as defenders (or hardly any, anyway). Their subsequent formation of 0-0-10 will be running up against the rather more conservative stylings of Arsenal. | |
| Last time Arsenal came to the US, breaking a decade long absence to play a friendly against Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls in 2014, they cautiously fielded a team without an out-and-out striker, and lost 1-0 to a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal (Brad’s doing fine, thanks for asking, any British readers stumbling on this). Tonight they’re expected to send out another slight head scratcher of a line up as Arsene Wenger tries to juggle the need for pre-season fitness with having to deal with the absences of some very unfit (i.e. injured) players such as the unfortunate Per Mertesacker. | |
| The game is in San Jose at the latest new-build stadium in MLS, the Avaya Stadium, and the MLS All-Stars will be coached by San Jose Earthquakes coach Dom Kinnear — a coach who won a couple of MLS Cup titles about a decade ago and has consistently crafted playoff teams and gallant losing finalists ever since. | |
| Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger | |
| I’ll be back shortly with some more build up and team news soon. For now, send your tweets and emails in to @KidWeil or graham.parker@theguardian.com and remember that you, the reader, are all stars in my book (and that that book uses American spelling). | |
| 7.09pm BST | 7.09pm BST |
| 19:09 | 19:09 |
| Graham will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s the latest on Arsenal’s injury problems: | Graham will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s the latest on Arsenal’s injury problems: |
| Francis Coquelin could be set to operate as a makeshift defender for Arsenal as Arsène Wenger looks to handle a number of injuries heading into the new season. | Francis Coquelin could be set to operate as a makeshift defender for Arsenal as Arsène Wenger looks to handle a number of injuries heading into the new season. |
| Wenger revealed this week that Per Mertesacker is set to be out for several months with a knee injury, while fellow centre-backs Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny were also left behind as the squad flew to the United States for two pre-season fixtures. | Wenger revealed this week that Per Mertesacker is set to be out for several months with a knee injury, while fellow centre-backs Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny were also left behind as the squad flew to the United States for two pre-season fixtures. |
| Gabriel is ill while Koscielny is on an extended break having reached the final of Euro 2016 with France. That means Calum Chambers is the most experienced central defender on the tour, with the new signing Rob Holding also likely to play a major part in both games – starting with the MLS All-Stars on Thursday evening. | Gabriel is ill while Koscielny is on an extended break having reached the final of Euro 2016 with France. That means Calum Chambers is the most experienced central defender on the tour, with the new signing Rob Holding also likely to play a major part in both games – starting with the MLS All-Stars on Thursday evening. |
| And although Wenger has said Mertesacker’s injury will force him back into the market for further defensive recruits, it appears midfielder Coquelin could become an option at the back. When the club’s official Snapchat account asked what he had been focusing on in training, the 25-year old replied: “I’ve been playing centre-back and I’ve been bossing it.” | And although Wenger has said Mertesacker’s injury will force him back into the market for further defensive recruits, it appears midfielder Coquelin could become an option at the back. When the club’s official Snapchat account asked what he had been focusing on in training, the 25-year old replied: “I’ve been playing centre-back and I’ve been bossing it.” |
| While Coquelin appears confident in his ability to adapt to a new role, Petr Cech conceded the absence of Mertesacker is a blow. “He is a great player, a great part of the team with his experience,” the goalkeeper told ESPN FC. “You cannot just replace a world champion just like that because obviously the experience of him, the games he played and he’s one of the captains. That says it all. | While Coquelin appears confident in his ability to adapt to a new role, Petr Cech conceded the absence of Mertesacker is a blow. “He is a great player, a great part of the team with his experience,” the goalkeeper told ESPN FC. “You cannot just replace a world champion just like that because obviously the experience of him, the games he played and he’s one of the captains. That says it all. |