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Rice, Havertz makes debut as Arsenal hit MLS All Stars for five

You are currently viewing Rice, Havertz makes debut as Arsenal hit MLS All Stars for five
  • Post published:July 20, 2023

Declan Rice made his debut while Kai Havertz scored his first goal for the Gunners as Arsenal thrashed the Major League Soccer All Star team 5-0 in a friendly at Audi Field.

Rice became the most expensive British player in history when Arsenal bought the England midfielder from West Ham for a reported £105 million ($137.5 million, 122.4 million euros).

The England international came on from the bench in the 65th minute, and the crowd, which mostly cheered for Arsenal, went wild.

Last month, German Havertz moved from London rivals Chelsea to Arsenal. After halftime, he was brought on and scored the fifth goal in the 89th minute.

Gabriel Jesus’s brilliant chip in the fifth minute was a great way for the runners-up in the Premier League to start their preseason tour of the United States.

The move started when Jorginho played a smart pass out wide to Bukayo Saka. When Saka cut inside, the ball fell to Jesus, who took one look at it and lofted it in off the far post.

Wayne Rooney, who is the manager of D.C. United, coaches the MLS team. There was a chance for them to score quickly, but former Liverpool forward Christian Benteke lost control of the ball inside the box.

Saka helped set up Arsenal’s second goal in the 23rd minute when he ran down the right side and found Leandro Trossard. Trossard made some space for himself and then scored a great goal.

Rooney said he hadn’t had time to do any tactical work with his team, which was made up of players from all over the North American league, and it showed as Arsenal completely dominated.

Rooney made five changes at halftime, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Tim Parker, a defender for St. Louis City, handled a cross from Jesus that was close to him.

Even though it was a bad call, Jorginho scored from the spot to make it 3-0.

When Trossard limped off with an injury, Arteta was worried, but when he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli, who scored the fourth goal, things went well.

Martin Odegaard broke through the MLS defence with a long pass to the Brazilian winger, who ran at the goal and put his shot in the far bottom corner.

Havertz finished off the win in the last minute by chesting down a cross from Marquinhos and confidently drilling the ball into the back of the net.

Saka said that the new people had a big effect on the team right away.

“I think we showed in glimpses how well we can play. I’m really happy with the new signings, how they got on as well and gelled with the team,” he told broadcasters Apple TV.

Arsenal will now go to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to play Premier League rivals Manchester United before heading to Los Angeles to play Spanish powerhouses Barcelona.