# 2016 MLS All-Star Game

The 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, the 21st annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, took place on July 28, 2016 (7:30 p.m. EDT, 4:30 p.m. local time) at Avaya Stadium, the home of the San Jose Earthquakes. The game was televised live on ESPN and Univision in the United States, and on TSN and RDS in Canada. The game featured the MLS All-Star team playing English side Arsenal, with the match being a preseason friendly for Arsenal as part of their tour of California.
Chuba Akpom was named MVP.

## Background

The Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition game played by a selection of players from the league's teams. It began in 1996 with the Eastern Conference and Western Conference fielding their own teams, similar to other major North American sports. After numerous format changes, the 2003 edition saw the format change again to matchup Mexican club Guadalajara against the "MLS All-Stars", a team with the best players competing in MLS. After reverting back to the original format in 2004, the "MLS All-Stars" had since played various club teams from across the world, including Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea.
MLS announced in May 2015 that Avaya Stadium, the home stadium of the San Jose Earthquakes, would host the 21st edition of the MLS All-Star Game. In February 2016, it was announced that Premier League side Arsenal were set to play the MLS All-Stars on July 28. Telecommunications company AT&T sponsored the game and the match was broadcast live in the United States through ESPN and Univision; it was also available internationally in over 100 countries.

## Squads
### MLS All-Stars

The MLS All Star Fan XI was announced on July 9, 2016, however members of this XI were not guaranteed a slot in the 22 man game day squad.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | JAM | Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union) |
| 2 | FW | USA | Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC) |
| 3 | DF | USA | Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire) |
| 4 | DF | CRC | Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) |
| 6 | MF | USA | Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers) |
| 7 | FW | ESP | David Villa (New York City FC) |
| 8 | FW | USA | Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) |
| 9 | FW | CAN | Cyle Larin (Orlando City SC) |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) |
| 11 | FW | CIV | Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact) |
| 12 | DF | USA | Keegan Rosenberry (Philadelphia Union) |
| 13 | MF | USA | Jermaine Jones$^a$ (Colorado Rapids) |
| 14 | DF | USA | Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution) |
| 15 | DF | USA | Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United) |
| 16 | MF | USA | Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | MEX | Giovanni Dos Santos (LA Galaxy) |
| 18 | DF | USA | Matt Besler$^a$ (Sporting Kansas City) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Liam Ridgewell$^a$ (Portland Timbers) |
| 20 | MF | USA | Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC) |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC) |
| 22 | MF | BRA | Kaká (Orlando City SC) |
| 23 | DF | BEL | Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact) |
| 24 | GK | PUR | Josh Saunders (New York City FC) |
| 25 | MF | USA | Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) |
| 28 | FW | ARG | Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact) |
| 29 | MF | ARG | Mauro Diaz (FC Dallas) |
| 34 | GK | USA | David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes) |
| 37 | DF | BEL | Jelle Van Damme (LA Galaxy) |
| 95 | DF | USA | Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas) |
Notes:
    $^a$ Injured or otherwise unable to play.

### Arsenal

On July 22 Arsenal announced a 25-man traveling squad for the MLS All-Star game:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Mathieu Debuchy |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Kieran Gibbs |
| 4 | DF | GER | Per Mertesacker |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Gabriel |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Jack Wilshere |
| 13 | GK | COL | David Ospina |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Theo Walcott |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Rob Holding |
| 17 | FW | NGA | Alex Iwobi |
| 18 | DF | ESP | Nacho Monreal |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Santi Cazorla |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Calum Chambers |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Héctor Bellerín |
| 26 | GK | ARG | Emiliano Martínez |
| 28 | FW | CRC | Joel Campbell |
| 29 | MF | SUI | Granit Xhaka |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Chuba Akpom |
| 33 | GK | CZE | Petr Čech |
| 34 | MF | FRA | Francis Coquelin |
| 35 | MF | EGY | Mohamed Elneny |
| 37 | MF | POL | Krystian Bielik |
| 40 | MF | USA | Gedion Zelalem |
| 68 | FW | ENG | Chris Willock |
Notes:
    $^a$ Injured or otherwise unable to play.
    $^b$ Development Squad

## Match

| MLS All-Stars | Arsenal |
45' :
| DF | 12 | Keegan Rosenberry | | 45' |
| DF | 23 | Laurent Ciman | 10' | 45' |
| DF | 37 | Jelle Van Damme | | 45' |
| DF | 95 | Kellyn Acosta | | 57' |
| MF | 21 | Andrea Pirlo | | 32' |
| MF | 25 | Kyle Beckerman | | 45' |
| MF | 17 | Giovani dos Santos | | 45' |
| MF | 22 | Kaká (c) | | 45' |
| FW | 7 | David Villa | | 33' |
| FW | 11 | Didier Drogba | | 45' |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 34 | David Bingham | | 45' |
| DF | 3 | Brandon Vincent | | 57' |
| DF | 4 | Kendall Waston | | 45' |
| DF | 14 | Andrew Farrell | | 45' |
| DF | 15 | Steve Birnbaum | | 45' |
| MF | 2 | Clint Dempsey | | 73' |
| MF | 6 | Darlington Nagbe | | 45' |
| MF | 8 | Chris Wondolowski | | 73' |
| MF | 16 | Sacha Kljestan | | 32' 73' |
| MF | 20 | Wil Trapp | | 45' |
| MF | 28 | Ignacio Piatti | | 33' 73' |
| MF | 29 | Mauro Díaz | | 45' |
| FW | 9 | Cyle Larin | | 77' |
| FW | 10 | Sebastian Giovinco | | 45' 77' |
| Manager: |||
| Dominic Kinnear ||||
| GK | 33 | Petr Čech (c) | 67' |
| DF | 2 | Mathieu Debuchy | 45' |
| DF | 16 | Rob Holding |
| DF | 37 | Krystian Bielik | 45' |
| DF | 3 | Kieran Gibbs | 45' |
| MF | 35 | Mohamed Elneny | 67' |
| MF | 34 | Francis Coquelin | 45' |
| MF | 10 | Jack Wilshere | 45' |
| MF | 15 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 67' |
| MF | 28 | Joel Campbell | 68' |
| FW | 14 | Theo Walcott | 67' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 26 | Emiliano Martínez | 67' |
| DF | 18 | Nacho Monreal | 45' |
| DF | 21 | Calum Chambers | 45' |
| DF | 24 | Héctor Bellerín | 45' |
| MF | 17 | Alex Iwobi | 45' |
| MF | 29 | Granit Xhaka | 45' |
| MF | 31 | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | 68' |
| MF | 40 | Gedion Zelalem | 67' |
| FW | 32 | Chuba Akpom | 67' |
| FW | 68 | Chris Willock | 67' |
| Manager: ||
| Arsène Wenger ||
| Most valuable player: Chuba Akpom (Arsenal) Assistant referees: Frank Anderson Matthew Nelson Fourth official: Juan Guzman Fifth official: Chris Strickland | Match rules 90 minutes. Unlimited substitutions. No extra time. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. |