Arsenal roster for MLS All-Star Game announced

The roster for Thursday’s MLS All-Star Game in San Jose’s Avaya Stadium (and, we can assume, Sunday’s match against Chivas in Carson’s StubHub Center) has been announced on the MLSSoccer.com website.

As expected, notable no-shows include several Arsenal players who went deep into the Euro 2016 tournament, including Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey, and Mesut Ozil, as well as Alexis Sanchez, who’s recovering from an ankle injury suffered during the finals of the Copa America Centenario tournament. Serge Gnabry, who had a late assist in the team’s 1-1 tie against RC Lens yesterday, will also not be making the trip.

However, the roster will include the two highest-profile summer signings, Granit Xhaka and Rob Holding, as well as a number of recent first-teamers and regular subs, including Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Mohamed Elneny, Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Iwobi, Per Mertesacker, and fan favorite Francis Coquelin.

Other players of interest making the trip include Calum Chambers, Jeff Reine-Adelaide (JEFF!), the still-alive Mathieu Debuchy, Krystian Bielek, and returned-from-loan Chupa Akbom. CONCACAF fans will be happy to see Gideon Zelalem and Joel Campbell on the squad, and Petr Cech and David Ospina (as well as Emiliano Martinez) are available in goal.

Though Gabriel is listed on the squad, an MLSSoccer.com article quotes manager Arsene Wenger saying that he has tonsillitis and will not be able to travel with the team.

The MLS All-Star Game will be televised on ESPN Thursday at 7:30 pm ET (meaning an unusual 4:30 pm start kickoff on the West Coast).