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There’s a little more room on the Arsenal team plane this morning, as Arsene Wenger announced Per Mertesacker, who is suffering from a knee problem, will not be making the trip to the Golden State.
You may have spotted one notable absentee - @mertesacker has a knee problem and won’t be part of #ArsenalUSA pic.twitter.com/GwEWg0T4Dw
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) July 25, 2016
Takuma Asano will also not make the trip, presumably because of the myriad of work permit and immigration docs it would take for a young Japanese being employed by an English club to be able to play in the US. That’s a lot of paperwork in a very short time, so Asano will remain behind and work on his game in London.
It remains to be seen what Arsene’s starting lineup will look like for Thursday’s game, as the visiting European team looks to break a two game losing streak against the MLS All-Stars. The last visiting team to win was Roma in 2013; MLS All-Stars defeated Bayern Munich in 2014 and Tottenham last season.