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• Rooney to coach MLS All-Stars in Arsenal friendly

  Arsenal will face the MLS All-Stars, who will be coached by Wayne Rooney, in a friendly in July.

  The annual MLS All-Star Game sees a squad made up of players from across the league come together to face an opponent.

  For the last two years, the MLS All-Stars have played a Liga MX All-Stars team, with the team from the United States' top tier emerging victorious on both occasions.

  However, the 2023 edition will see the MLS All-Stars return to playing a European club, with Arsenal appearing in the exhibition event for a second time.

  The Gunners beat an All-Stars side that included Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Didier Drogba and David Villa 2-1 in San Jose in 2016.

  This year's match will be held at Audi Field in Washington, D.C, with England's joint-record goalscorer Rooney – who coaches D.C. United in MLS – set to take charge of the All-Stars.

  "I've had a front-row seat to watch the growth and development of Major League Soccer, first as a player and now as a manager," said Rooney in a statement.

  "The opportunity to lead the best our league has to offer against a top Premier League club like Arsenal will be a highlight for me personally and an unforgettable experience for our passionate fanbase here in D.C."

  Mikel Arteta said: "It's great that we're playing against the MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. in July.

  "Our US tour [in 2022] was very good preparation for the season, and we're looking forward to once again visiting our amazing supporters in the US. The match against the MLS All-Stars will be a good test ahead of the 2023-24 season."

  On July 18, 10 Arsenal players will also go up against 10 MLS players in the Skills Challenge, which will again be held at Audi Field.

  Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with 10 games remaining, while Rooney's D.C. United are 11th in the Eastern Conference in MLS with four points from as many games this season.

• Hojbjerg tells Conte to 'elaborate' on outburst that has left him on brink of Spurs sack

  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg told Antonio Conte to "elaborate" on the remarkable outburst that has left him on the brink of being sacked as Tottenham manager.

  The fiery Italian boss said he saw "selfish players" who "do not want to play under pressure" after his side were pegged back in a 3-3 Premier League draw by Southampton on Saturday.

  Conte also seemingly took aim at the club's hierarchy when he said: "20 years there is the owner and they never won something. Why?"

  Spurs are now expected to wield the axe during the international break. Hojbjerg said he can understand Conte's frustration given disappointing exits in the FA Cup and Champions League to Sheffield United and Milan respectively but thinks there should be a clearer message to help the team get to where they want to be.

  "We've all seen it," Hojbjerg told reporters while on Denmark duty. 

  "[It was a] very honest and very open press conference he gave. It is because he is not satisfied. You don't do that if you've reached the quarter-final of the Champions League and if you're in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

  "It comes from the fact that, unfortunately, we did not get the results we as a team and club wanted. We are still where we want and need to be in the Premier League. But yes, it's hard, I should say.

  "I understand that if you want to be successful as a team, you need 11 men who are committed to a project and a culture. But I think he has to elaborate on how he feels before you as a player can start measuring and weighing.

  "The coach has not been satisfied, and that is what I will take with me. You do what you can to please him. What I do know about myself is that I am an honest player. I am a player who always gives 100 per cent of myself for the team."

  When asked if he felt Conte was right to take the course of action he did, Hojbjerg replied: "Fortunately, I am not the one to judge it.

  "If that's how he sees it, then you have to be a little more precise in order for you as a player to take it to heart."

  He did confirm, though, that Conte did not give his players prior warning of the tirade that was to come.

  "He didn't tell us what he wanted to say at the press conference," he said.

  "But it is clear that you work with each other every day, you want the best for each other and you want to be successful together. And sometimes the waves go high in football."

  Spurs are fourth in the table but each of Newcastle United, Liverpool and Brighton and Hove Albion own games in hand in a congested fight for Champions League football.

  They return to action at home to Everton on April 3.

• Struggling Sevilla sack Sampaoli

  Jorge Sampaoli has been sacked by Sevilla after a poor run of form left them just two points above the relegation zone in LaLiga.

  A 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Getafe on Sunday proved the final straw for Sampaoli, who had only returned for his second spell in charge in October.

  Sevilla have won just twice in their past seven LaLiga matches, losing four games in that run.

  Sampaoli did steer Sevilla into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, but a different coach will now be in the dugout when they go head to head with Manchester United.

  A Sevilla statement read: "Sevilla have terminated the contract of coach Jorge Sampaoli after the team's defeat in Getafe, which has once again placed the team on the verge of relegation places.

  "The fact that the team has not managed to get out of the lowest positions in the table since his incorporation as coach and the image offered in the last matches of the team have led the club to make this decision, in search of a reaction in the 12 games that remain in the league.

  "Sevilla thanks Sampaoli for the services he has provided and wishes him the best of luck in his future."

  The club said they planned to appoint a new coach later on Tuesday, to be in charge in time to take an early-evening training session. Former Real Valladolid and Eibar boss Jose Luis Mendilibar has been strongly linked with the job.

  Sampaoli was first put in charge in Sevilla ahead of the 2016-17 season and led them to a fourth-placed finish in LaLiga before leaving to take over as Argentina head coach.