Arsenal vs. MLS All-Stars Announced for 2016 MLS All-Star Game

Major League Soccer has announced Premier League giants Arsenal as the opponents for the league's All-Star team this summer, with the match set to be played in San Jose, California, on Thursday, July 28. MLS' official Twitter account confirmed the news with a short video: The MLS All-Stars have been taking on foreign guests during the All-Star Game since 2005 and beat Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 last year. It will be the Gunners' first appearance in the All-Star game, joining the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich on the list of teams who have participated. The match will be a part of Arsenal's pre-season tour, and the Gunners will play a second match on American soil against Chivas de Guadalajara in Los Angeles three days later, per the club's official website. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is excited to return to the USA after their visit to the east coast in 2014: Pre-season 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. We have tremendous support across America and enjoyed our visit to New York in the summer of 2014 when we played ...

Is Bruce Arena Loading Up for One Last MLS Cup Run with the LA Galaxy?

The Los Angeles Galaxy have undergone the most intriguing offseason in Major League Soccer. At first, the idea of the Galaxy signing experienced players like Ashley Cole indicated that the club was falling behind, per Sean Steffen of SB Nation. Now, it appears as if there's an actual plan. Head coach Bruce Arena is trying to win the MLS Cup and other trophies, in what could be his last season with the Galaxy. Arena signed a multi-year extension before the 2014 season. Due to MLS rules, the terms were not disclosed, but at 64 years old, the American tactician may be tempted by another challenge in the near future. Arena admitted to ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle that he'd like to stay in the game, but he didn't know whether it would be with LA or another team. Whatever he decides to do after the upcoming season, Arena's ambition for 2016 was made clear this winter. The Galaxy sold defender Omar Gonzalez and midfielder Juninho to Pachuca and Club Tijuana, respectively. LA then bolstered the roster by acquiring defenders Cole and Jelle Van Damme, along with midfielder Nigel De Jong for a combined $1.3 million in salary. To put that number into context, LA's three marquee signings ...

Nigel De Jong to LA Galaxy: Latest Transfer Details, Comments and Reaction

The L.A. Galaxy announced the signing of AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong on Wednesday.   In a statement on the club's official website, the Galaxy confirmed the capture of the Dutch international, who will join the club as an International player. Per the statement he will join the squad "pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa." De Jong believes now is the right time to make the switch to MLS. According to Adam Serrano of the club's official website, he said: "I thought that it would be the perfect time for me to go to the States because of my age. Instead of being a little bit older, I’ll be heading over in the best part of my career. That's when I decided that I wanted to go to the Galaxy." He added: If you see the last couple years of my career, on the pitch you can see that I’m 100 percent and dedicated to the game no matter what club that I play for. I take no prisoners, but I always play with respect. I do my best for the team. At the end of the day, it’s about winning. No matter how you play, it’s always about three points. I think ...

Ashley Cole to LA Galaxy: Latest Transfer Details, Reaction and More

Ashley Cole has moved on from AS Roma and joined MLS side LA Galaxy, potentially marking the final chapter in his storied career. The transfer was confirmed by the American club on Twitter: Details of terms were not revealed, but Galaxy insider Adam Serrano revealed Cole's squad designation: Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena has welcomed Cole to the club and outlined some of the qualities the veteran full-back will add to his squad, per the team's official site. "Ashley is one of the world’s most successful defenders and has played at the highest level of competition throughout his career," Arena said. "He can provide our defense with valuable experience. We look forward to his contribution to our club this season." This deal had been widely expected. Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reported how Cole had been bought out the final five months of his contract amid interest from Galaxy. It seems the Italian club are only too happy to rid themselves of Cole. Writing for the Guardian, Marcus Christenson and Fabrizio Romano made it clear how Roma were "desperate to sever their ties" with the veteran defender. Now 35, the former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back can offer the cool head of experience to ...

Making Sense of the LA Galaxy’s Puzzling Offseason Moves to Date

The LA Galaxy are no strangers to being in the spotlight during a transfer window, but usually the decisions made by the brass at the StubHub Center are met with praise.  But that has not been the case this offseason as two of the club's best players were sold to Liga MX, and their rumored replacements only have a few years left in their legs.  There was no doubt that head coach Bruce Arena's side was in need of a retooling after the five-time MLS Cup champions fell out of the Western Conference playoffs in the knockout round at the hands of rival Seattle Sounders. However, no one expected the change to involve the team's best center back and the rock of the midfield. During a short span in December, Omar Gonzalez left the Galaxy for Club Pachuca and midfielder Juninho transferred to Club Tijuana. The departure of the two title winners left the Galaxy with only five members of the starting 11 that helped hoist the 2014 MLS Cup.  In addition to Gonzalez and Juninho, Jaime Penedo, Stefan Ishizaki, Marcelo Sarvas and Landon Donovan have left the club for a multitude of reasons. Penedo left in the summer of 2015 due to a contract ...

Cristiano Ronaldo Comments on Potentially Playing in MLS

Some Major League Soccer supporters are likely tired of clubs' continued reliance on aging European stars to drive interest, but the possibility of landing Cristiano Ronaldo is bound to intrigue even the harshest critic of the league's designated player rule. In an interview with Daniel Riley for GQ, the Real Madrid star spoke about his opinion of MLS and whether he'd ever consider playing in the league: I know that many players move there. I think it's becoming better and better. It's growing. I think it's good. It's good for me and young players that maybe one day we want to move there. So it's good that football—'soccer'—grows there. [...] I mean, what's happening there is great, it's fantastic—maybe in the future will be a good chance for me to play there. You never know, but it's something interesting. I consider it, of course, because as I've said, soccer there has become better and better, so why not? I think that this is maybe going to be possible. Ronaldo has already gone on record saying his "dream is to end [his] career at Real Madrid," per Carlos Carpio and Pablo Polo of Spanish paper Marca. Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in November (via ESPN ...

Jack Harrison, NYCFC Take Roundabout Way to Draft-Day Marriage

BALTIMORE — Ten minutes before the 2016 MLS SuperDraft began inside the Baltimore Convention Center, New York City FC director of football operations Claudio Reyna didn't think he'd get the player he wanted.  After a string of trades between the clubs near the top of the draft board, the cards fell in NYCFC's favor just as commissioner Don Garber began his opening address.  “I would say 10 minutes before the first pick, we thought we had no chance of getting (Jack Harrison) to be honest," Reyna told reporters after the madness of the first round ended. "It was as close as that as far as us knowing we had an opportunity as the other trades played out between Philadelphia and Colorado, and conversations I had with Philadelphia and Chicago. It was actually when Don (Garber) started speaking when we were trying to confirm the trade with Chicago."  NYCFC and the Chicago Fire had to wait almost an hour for the deal to become official. While both sides waited for the specifics to be ironed out, No. 1 overall pick Jack Harrison stood in the waiting area next to the stage with a Chicago Fire scarf draped around his neck.  As the deal was being ...

2016 MLS SuperDraft: Winners and Losers from Baltimore Event

The latest batch of Major League Soccer players were selected on Thursday during the first two rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.  The Chicago Fire chose Wake Forest's Jack Harrison with the first-overall selection, but the Englishman was later traded to New York City FC in one of the many trades that took place on the floor of the Baltimore Convention Center.  When all the dust settled, eight of the first 15 selections were acquired through a trade, including Harrison and No. 2 pick Joshua Yaro.  Forty-one players were selected in total on Thursday, and an additional 40 will be selected on January 19 during the third and fourth rounds. An entire list of Thursday's selections can be found here via MLSSoccer.com. Here's a look at our winners and losers from Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.Begin Slideshow

MLS SuperDraft 2016: Complete Round-by-Round Results and Twitter Reaction

The first two rounds of the MLS SuperDraft kicked off on Thursday afternoon, highlighted by a flurry of trades and shock moves from the various clubs across the league.  Here are the full results of the opening rounds:    It didn't take long for things to get crazy at the SuperDraft. Before the draft even began, the Philadelphia Union announced they'd acquired the second overall pick from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for general allocation money. Things only got busier from there. The Chicago Fire selected Wake Forest midfielder Jack Harrison with the top overall pick but quickly shifted him to New York City FC for the No. 4 overall pick and allocation money. It was certainly a whirlwind period of time for Harrison, and Leander Schaerlaeckens of Yahoo Sports sympathized with the young man: That set up the dream scenario for the Philadelphia Union, which desperately needed to upgrade their defense and were able to do so at No. 2 with the player many people felt was the top talent in the draft, Joshua Yaro, who was excited after the pick: Kevin Kinkead of CBS Philly envisions him pairing nicely with Richie Marquez: That move would also allow Maurice Edu to slide back into a defensive midfielder role, ...

MLS: Top 10 Games to Watch During the 2016 Season

The 2016 MLS schedule has been revealed, and while most of the games are worth watching, the best 10 will be highlighted here.  These games will mainly be graded on the rivalry between the two teams. In addition, if previous matches were entertaining, or the two teams have a history like the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy, then that fixture will be bumped up higher. The defending champion Portland Timbers and Supporters' Shield-winning New York Red Bulls are featured prominently. However, 10 other teams are also included. Here are the 10 matches to watch during the 2016 MLS season.Begin Slideshow