Wayne Rooney expressed his disappointment after watching his MLS All-Stars side suffer a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal in their pre-season friendly at Audi Field in Washington DC.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad showcased their dominance with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli, and new signing Kai Havertz.
The match also marked the debuts of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber for Arsenal.
For Rooney, the former Manchester United and Everton striker, who is now the head coach of MLS club DC United, the result was a letdown.
He voiced his frustration with his side’s preparation for the game and the treatment of his staff in the post-match interview, stating that he learned “absolutely nothing” from the match.Watch the video below.
What did you learn? ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!’ | Wayne Rooney on 5-0 defeat to Arsenal 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/yPGkMREtXX
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) July 20, 2023
“What did I take out of this game? Absolutely nothing,” said Rooney.
“The players only arrived on Monday and I suggested that we have a small-sided game on the Tuesday to get ready for the match.
“I told them I didn’t want them training at the National Mall but that’s where we trained and so we couldn’t do anything but head tennis.
“We had no time whatsoever to do any tactics so all I could do was put the players out there and hope they could figure things out amongst themselves.
“But that’s very difficult against a team like Arsenal who are one of the best sides in Europe and you could see the difference in quality.”
Rooney was also unhappy that members of his backroom staff were told to vacate their seats to make room for MLS sponsors.
“Everything around this game is great publicity for the league, but my staff got kicked out of their seats today by members of Apple,” said Rooney.
“I wouldn’t be doing my team a service if I didn’t mention that because if you’re being asked to manage the game with your staff you are expecting them all to have somewhere to sit.”
Rooney also went on to criticise the performance of the referee and the level of officiating in the MLS as a whole.
“The game was a bit stop-start because once again the referee made it a bit about himself,” added Rooney.
“That’s something I’ve said all season that needs improving in the MLS so this is a good opportunity for me to bring it up again.”