Arsenal have announced that they will be playing an MLS All-Stars team in Washington DC on 19 July as part of their preparations for the 2023/24 season.
Mikel Arteta will be up against Wayne Rooney, the head coach for DC United, the hosts of the match and it marks a return to the US for Arsenal after they toured there last summer.
Premier League clubs' pre-season summer 2023 friendlies
“Our match against MLS All-Stars in July is a great opportunity for Mikel and the squad to prepare ahead of the new season, facing a strong opposition,” said Arsenal sporting director, Edu. “We’re currently working on our pre-season plans and we look forward to announcing further details soon."
The Arsenal are heading Stateside 🇺🇸
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 21, 2023
As part of our upcoming pre-season tour of the US, we’re delighted to announce we’ll be facing off against the @MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. on July 19 👇
Matt Turner's preparing the Gunners for a stateside trip to remember.@Arsenal will face the best of MLS in Washington, DC, for the 2023 #MLSAllStar Game presented by @Target! pic.twitter.com/hYuCW0eb0y
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 21, 2023
Arsenal are the second Premier League team to announce plans to tour the US in the summer.
Last week, Manchester United announced they would be playing a series of matches in America this summer, their first visit to the country in five years.
The club said it will travel to “various destinations across the US”, with the exact location to be revealed “in the coming weeks”.
“We know that Manchester United and the Premier League in general are growing in popularity across the US, so we are looking forward to building on this connection this summer,” John Murtough, United's football director, told the club's official website.
USA, WE'RE COMING! 🇺🇸#MUFC || #MUTOUR23
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2023
The 2023/24 Premier League season is due to kick off on Saturday 12 August.
