Arsenal news: The Gunners are expected to travel across the pond to the US in the summer as part of their preparations for the 2023/24 season
Arsenal's plans for pre-season ahead of the 2023/24 season are well underway as the Gunners gear up for a potential defence of the Premier League title.
In total, Arsenal played five friendlies in the build up to the start of the season. They flew to Germany to play Bundesliga 2 side FC Nurnberg at the start of July before visiting the United States to defeat Everton, Orlando City and Chelsea in the space of a week.
Despite there being plenty of football to be played this term, preparations for next season are already underway. Here, football.london brings you everything we know on the Gunners' pre-season visit to the States..
Club confirm USA plan
The club have confirmed plans that Arteta's side will travel to the United States as part of their preparations for the 2023/24 season. The Gunners will play an MLS All-Stars team - led by Wayne Rooney - in Washington D.C. on July 19.
Technical director Edu said: "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. We’re currently working on our pre-season plans and we look forward to announcing further details soon."
Arteta also discussed his thoughts on the trip. He said: "It’s great that we’re playing against the MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. in July. Our US tour last summer was very good preparation for the season, and we’re looking forward to once again visiting our amazing supporters in the US. The match against the MLS All-Stars will be a good test ahead of the 2023/24 season."
Major League Soccer All-Star game
The fixture would see Arteta face up against former Manchester United star Rooney in the dug-out due to the tradition that sees the coach of the host city coaching the MLS All-Stars. The fixture would be a change from the previous All-Star XIs from the Mexican league, something the MLS commissioner Don Galber believes would be a good change.
“I’m not sure we need that for our All-Star Game (in 2023)," Galber said. "You’ve got Campeones Cup coming up in September in New York City. So we’ll see what next year in Washington, D.C., looks like when D.C. United hosts, but you know, I’m not quite sure.”
Arsenal have been involved in an All-Star game before. Back in 2016, Arsene Wenger's side defeated the MLS best 2-1 thanks to goals from Joel Campbell and Chuba Akpom.
Competitive tournament
In October, it was reported by The Athletic that plans had been set to organise an 'enhanced pre-season tournament' in the United States as part of a roadmap to hold 'competitive matches in strategic markets'.
It's anticipated the event will take place in late July and could see around six Premier League clubs divided into two separate groups, each playing two round-robin style friendlies in various locations on the east and west coasts of America.
The report claims 14 of the current 20 Premier League sides are keen.