MLS All Stars and Arsenal FC Head Coaches Wayne Rooney & Kieran Gibbs
July 19 it’s a battle for Atlantic Ocean bragging rights as the MLS All Stars will take on Arsenal FC at Audi Field in Washington DC with a skills competition the night before. With the MLS squad being coached by DC United (and Premier League legend) Wayne Rooney and Arsenal being coached by it’s own hero Kieran Gibbs, it’s already being built as a future classic.
From Wayne Rooney, “For the fans, it’ll be a great event for them and their children, especially with Arsenal coming over as a top team in world football and potentially the champions of England. I think the fans will create a very good atmosphere, and I think it’s an event you have to enjoy, including the players and staff. Hopefully it’ll be a competitive game, and we can win it.”
The match will be broadcast via Apple TV in over 100 countries, so it’s a phenomenal opportunity for MLS to flex it’s growing muscles on a worldwide stage. Coach Kieran Gibbs added, “You’ve got over 100 countries that this game is going to be viewed in, so you’re going to have fans from all over the world watching this game. You’ve got Arsenal, who are such a historic club, and, tied with that, a league that’s growing fast in a country where the sport is growing fast. It’s historic, and it’s going to be exciting for all these fans to get to see one of the top clubs in Europe and the MLS All-Stars competing against them.”
MLS All Stars and Arsenal FC Head Coaches Wayne Rooney & Kieran Gibbs
Adding a small bit of intrigue to this match is the U.S. return for former MLS Goalkeeper of the year and current Arsenal FC backup goalkeeper Matt Turner. Turner was the goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team during it’s run in the World Cup in Qatar. Turner has been with the Gunners since 2022.
Covering MLS for the past few years I’ve seen how it gets viewed by locally and internationally. Much has been said about the growth of MLS and it’s impact, while also being viewed as a stepping stone to play in Europe, so both teams have much to gain, and even lose, in this matchup. As a fan, I’m already looking forward to this. Let’s go!
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 13 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs, a mother-in-law who just moved in and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.
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