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Bruce Arena held a roundtable discussion for select media members on Tuesday to answer more direct questions about his vision for the USMNT. One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of it was this little tidbit about Benny Feilhaber:
Benny Feilhaber in #usmnt camp in Jan? "Tend to believe he’s going to get an opportunity," Arena says. Haven’t talked to Vermes yet.
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) November 29, 2016
It appears that after several years of being left out in the cold by Jurgen Klinsmann, Benny will be getting his chance to show he belongs. Expect to see him in the upcoming January Camp, Arena’s first chance to gather players together and evaluate. Any further involvement past that seems like it would be up to him to prove his worth.
Arena told reporters that one of the biggest areas of improvement the USMNT needs is a better passing midfielder:
Bruce Arena says #USMNT player pool ~50-60 right now, ~30 of which will be in Jan camp. One of big needs, he says: Better passer in midfield
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) November 29, 2016
As one of the only throughball specialists in American soccer, Feilhaber seems like he fits this description perfectly. With 28 assists in the last two MLS seasons, he could be the playmaking force that the USMNT has been looking for.