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| Chuba Akpom’s late goal wins MLS All Star game for Arsenal | Chuba Akpom’s late goal wins MLS All Star game for Arsenal |
| (25 days later) | |
| Chuba Akpom scored in the 87th minute to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over the MLS All-Stars on Thursday night at Avaya Stadium. | Chuba Akpom scored in the 87th minute to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over the MLS All-Stars on Thursday night at Avaya Stadium. |
| Akpom, a second-half substitute, capitalised on the work of midfielder Chris Willock and Nacho Monreal to score the winning goal. | Akpom, a second-half substitute, capitalised on the work of midfielder Chris Willock and Nacho Monreal to score the winning goal. |
| Willock worked himself into space on the left-hand side of the area and fed the ball to Monreal, who crossed to Akpom. The 20-year-old striker got behind the Chicago Fire defender Brandon Vincent and slotted in from close range. Akpom was later named man of the match. | Willock worked himself into space on the left-hand side of the area and fed the ball to Monreal, who crossed to Akpom. The 20-year-old striker got behind the Chicago Fire defender Brandon Vincent and slotted in from close range. Akpom was later named man of the match. |
| Earlier, Joel Campbell gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute with a penalty. Laurent Ciman had fouled Theo Walcott, and Campbell trotted slowly up to the ball before hitting a low drive underneath Philadelphia Union’s Andre Blake. | Earlier, Joel Campbell gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute with a penalty. Laurent Ciman had fouled Theo Walcott, and Campbell trotted slowly up to the ball before hitting a low drive underneath Philadelphia Union’s Andre Blake. |
| A familiar foe for Arsenal, the former Chelsea star Didier Drogba, now playing for the Montreal Impact, levelled the score in first-half stoppage time. The New York Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan began the move with a ball to Giovani dos Santos on the left of the box. Dos Santos passed to the Ivorian, who took three shots before he scored: Petr Cech stopped the first, Rob Holding blocked the second and Drogba converted the rebound. | A familiar foe for Arsenal, the former Chelsea star Didier Drogba, now playing for the Montreal Impact, levelled the score in first-half stoppage time. The New York Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan began the move with a ball to Giovani dos Santos on the left of the box. Dos Santos passed to the Ivorian, who took three shots before he scored: Petr Cech stopped the first, Rob Holding blocked the second and Drogba converted the rebound. |
| It often felt like a home game for Arsenal. The Gunners’ red-and-white shirts overwhelmed any other club’s representation in the stadium. | It often felt like a home game for Arsenal. The Gunners’ red-and-white shirts overwhelmed any other club’s representation in the stadium. |
| Arsenal’s starting line-up featured familiar names such as Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but Arsène Wenger chose to feature younger players, including Willock and the 18-year-old Polish central defender Krystian Bielik. The All-Stars fielded a starting 11 featuring European veterans Drogba, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa. | Arsenal’s starting line-up featured familiar names such as Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but Arsène Wenger chose to feature younger players, including Willock and the 18-year-old Polish central defender Krystian Bielik. The All-Stars fielded a starting 11 featuring European veterans Drogba, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa. |
| The visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession from the start. The All-Stars responded by attempting to strike quickly on counterattacks. In the seventh minute, Real Salt Lake’s Kyle Beckerman began one such attack by slotting a pass to Kaka, who sent a long ball to Villa on the left flank. But Kieran Gibbs blocked Villa’s shot before it could trouble the Arsenal goal. | The visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession from the start. The All-Stars responded by attempting to strike quickly on counterattacks. In the seventh minute, Real Salt Lake’s Kyle Beckerman began one such attack by slotting a pass to Kaka, who sent a long ball to Villa on the left flank. But Kieran Gibbs blocked Villa’s shot before it could trouble the Arsenal goal. |
| A minute later, Pirlo orchestrated another counterattack by chipping the ball to Dos Santos but Cech used his right hand to deflect dos Santos’ 15-yard shot to safety.Cech made another critical save in the 47th minute by lunging to deflect Sebastian Giovinco’s 16-yard fusillade that had been heading into the upper-left corner of the net. | A minute later, Pirlo orchestrated another counterattack by chipping the ball to Dos Santos but Cech used his right hand to deflect dos Santos’ 15-yard shot to safety.Cech made another critical save in the 47th minute by lunging to deflect Sebastian Giovinco’s 16-yard fusillade that had been heading into the upper-left corner of the net. |
| Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka made his debut for the Gunners when he entered the match in the 46th minute but it was Akpom who was to have the final say. | Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka made his debut for the Gunners when he entered the match in the 46th minute but it was Akpom who was to have the final say. |