MLS All-Star Skills Challenge is strange - but could catch on in Premier League
The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge is possibly the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen on a pre-season tour.
Arsenal took part in the two hour event - and yes, it did go on a bit - with various drills in front of nearly 20,000 fans at the Audi Field in Washington. It’s a traditional event the night before the MLS All-Star match with players from different club teams taking on Arsenal this time.
And it features a shooting challenge, passing challenge, crossbar challenge, passing challenge, cross and volley challenge and, best of all, goalie wars! The goalie wars consists of basically the two rival keepers facing each other in goals about 20 yards apart and they have to kick, throw or whatever to get the ball past their opposite No1.
It looked so intense and competitive that no wonder Mikel Arteta nominated Alex Rúnarsson rather than Aaron Ramsdale to take part… Arsenal’s list of players taking part were Runarsson, Folarin Balogun, Kai Havertz, Rob Holding, Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior, Marquinhos, Jurrien Timber and Auston Trusty.
Havertz did not hit the target once from the crossing drill while Kiwior was just brilliant at hitting the targets in a shooting drill. But let’s remember this… this was Arsenal taking part (albeit largely squad players) the night before a friendly with the MLS All-Stars.
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But the All-Stars squad was made up of players from different teams across the country flying in for some kind of It’s A Knockout game. Can you imagine Newcastle, Manchester City and the rest allowing their players to fly in for a bizarre shooting contest?
Furthermore, can you imagine them allowing them to play in a combined Premier League team. Wayne Rooney, as manager of DC United, admitted he could never see it happening in England. Don’t forget that was Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s big idea which went down so badly…
Arsenal took part in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)But these guys were taking it so seriously that there was a mixed zone afterwards, a huge crowd and it’s part of the huge build-up for the MLS All-Star week. Call me crazy - and it did go on too long (keepers smashing the life out of each other was fun the first couple of times) - but it could just catch on.
Can you imagine the big names in the Premier League doing it? Maybe they could try it in one of the foreign overseas summer tournaments. Arsenal are really embracing the MLS All-Star vibe and have bought into it nicely.
It was Martin Odegaard and Eddie Nketiah on press duties with Arteta the day before the game which kicks off in the early hours of Thursday. Odegaard speaks so well and recalled the hurt of last season as the driving force behind this. But also raised a great point about having good characters in the dressing room.
There is a genuinely nice group of players at the club which is definitely through design more than luck. There is a certain snobbery around US sports - just look at Boehly’s suggestion and the way it was received as proof - but maybe, just maybe, they know what they’re talking about.
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