Arsenal confirm summer trip to United States

Arsenal have announced that they will travel to the United States to play a single friendly this summer, against Thierry Henry and New York Red Bulls. The game will be played Saturday, July 26 at 5pm at Red Bull Arena, which is actually in New Jersey.

For many of us in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the rest of the American continents, this will be the first real chance we'll have to see Arsenal play live and in the flesh. It's been rumored for years - especially as foreign fandom has grown, Stan Kroenke has taken over the club, and Thierry Henry has moved to New York - and the rumors this year were more substantive than in years past. But they are rumors no more, so all Western Hemisphere fans of the club can go crazy.

Arsene Wenger had this to say:

This will be a great chance to play in front of supporters who have not seen the team play before. The New York Red Bulls will be midway through their season, so they will provide a good test. Obviously it will be good to play against Thierry. He is a very special player in our club’s history and I know the players and the supporters will enjoy this very much.

I'm sure that business concerns were taken into account - other big clubs have traveled to the United States, including Chelsea last year (which I attended) and Arsenal can't fall behind in what's a growing market for English soccer. But for myself, I'm just going to pretend like they finally heard my plaintive cries and have brought the team to see me. You guys are all invited too, there should be plenty of seats.