Arsenal dominates MLS in strange All-Stars Skills Challenge but even the gap in quality can’t ruin the night for DC fans

If an All-Star Game wasn’t strange enough for a European side, Arsenal took part in the MLS Skills Challenge on Tuesday night – and the results were somewhat surreal.

The Gunners called on 10 players for the shaky event – including new signings Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber – and you wouldn’t have known this team was new to the spectacle.

Arsenal beat their hosts in four of the five competitions, with numbered goals and huge round goals, similar to what you might see in the ‘Skill Games’ mode on FIFA 23.

The night started with ‘Goalie Wars’ between two MLS Next goalkeepers – Ben Martino and Isaac Walker (the eventual winner) – as they tried to score at each other from about 20 yards apart.

They were not limited to using their feet and often tried to swing the ball past each other.

Christian Benteke wrestled at Audi Field in front of the hometown crowd on Tuesday

Arsenal called up 10 players, including new signing Kai Havertz, for the skill competition

Arsenal won the first challenge of the night, a target-in-the-goal shooting match

From there, three representatives from each side competed in a shooting challenge where players earned points by hitting different targets in the net.

Apart from a few strong rounds from Jakub Kiwior and Denis Bouanga to close the match, the crowd didn’t get much of that.

In fact, a hush fell over Audi Field as hometown D.C. United striker Christian Benteke struggled and finally fired a shot over the crossbar.

Arsenal won that game – and the next one – where players had to volley, pick up a ball and aim for what can only be described as a massive skeeball machine.

Aaron Ramsdale was absent for the first hour of the night, but eventually got involved in the cross and volley event, which ended up being well received by the crowd.

The DC fans enjoyed Kai Havertz’s plight – he failed to score a single point against former Borussia Dortmund player Roman Burki – and Bouanga’s sharp shot, as the Gabonese striker stunned the crowd with a scissor kick.

At one point he scored four or five times in a row. It felt like the best distillation of the NBA’s three-point league and gave the MLS its first win of the night.

A passing game featuring the likes of Jorginho, All-Star captain Lucho Acosta and Thiago Almada proved more popular than expected – getting Arsenal back in the winning streak – before the ever-popular lat challenge concluded the evening.

Of course, it was MLS product Auston Trusty who won the match for the Londoners to cap off a breezy night in the US capital.

Denis Bouanga looked the best finisher – of both teams – when he scored a scissor kick

But Havertz failed to score a single point in cross-and-shoot competition on Tuesday

Three days before Lionel Messi’s predicted debut for Inter Miami, it was hard to imagine what this competition would look like with him involved.

Both because of the degree to which he would dominate, and also because of the mental image of him trying to fit the ball into a huge round hole.

Arsenal have friendlies against Man United, Barca and Monaco after this All-Star Week before embarking on a season-long gauntlet. They hope to bag Premier League silverware within 10 months.

But on Tuesday, they were just having a little fun.