Earthquakes prepare for Year 2 under Arena with lessons learned, but without starry trio

The Earthquakes will open season No. 2 under head coach Bruce Arena with a hungry cast and some depth concerns on the attack.

Buoyed by the signing of heralded German forward Timo Werner and a 3-0 preseason run, the Quakes will face Sporting Kansas City Saturday night at PayPal Park (7 p.m., Apple TV+).

Gone from the squad, however, are three key attackers — Cristian Espinoza, Josef Martinez and Chicho Arango — along with mainstay center back Rodrigues. The attacking trio combined for 31 goals and 21 assists last season. But Arena, a five-time MLS Cup champion, appears unfazed about stats gone by.

“I wouldn’t worry about goals and assists last year, that doesn’t play a role this year,” Arena said during a Thursday media event. “Every team has the same record starting on Saturday. We think we’re going to be fine on the attacking end of the field as well.”

Arena said the team is looking to add one or two more players. He’s trying to bring a positive mindset to a club that hasn’t enjoyed a lot of success in the past decade.

Werner won’t be available for the home opener, but is expected for the team’s second home match, Feb. 28 against Atlanta United.

It looks like a mixed bag for the club that was put up for sale by owner John Fisher in June. The Quakes have made the playoffs just four times since 2012, and most MLS insiders are picking them to come up short again, but the players aren’t so sure.

“It’s closer than people think. I think we have a roster right now that can make the playoffs,” said 22-year-old midfielder Beau Leroux, out of San Jose State. “We just need to stay connected and mentally sharp and push for the playoffs.”

He added that the players want to provide for the fans.

All four of Arena’s previous teams made huge strides in his second season. Knowledge is power in his case.

“You learn things from one year to the next,” he said of the improvement. “When you move into a new team, you need to learn something about the players, the organization, and try to move things forward and I think we’ve made progress there. Hopefully, that will show in 2026.”

The Quakes will lean heavily on Werner, who warmed the RP Leipzig bench in the Bundesliga in the 2025-26 season but has amassed 153 goals and 86 assists in 449 professional games and has 57 caps for Germany during a storied career that includes stops at Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC in the English Premier League.

“He’s done a lot and won a lot of trophies and he’s got a lot of experience, and I think he’s going to be a good leadership component for our team,” Quakes center back Daniel Munie said. “He’s a guy that we’re going to be able to lean on. I’m super excited to get to meet him and see what he’s gonna be able to do for MLS.”

As for the departures, Martinez signed in Liga MX with Club Tijuana, and Arango is on loan with Colombian side Atlético Nacional. Espinoza, a two-time MLS All-Star and revered team leader, signed as a free agent with Nashville FC. Rodrigues has returned to Brazilian football and Mirassol.

Preston Judd (7 goals, 2 assists in 2025) and Ousseni Bouda are manning the forward line, each one scoring a goal in the preseason in Indio.

Quakes players think it’s vital to get off to a good start with back-to-back home games. The club has a hometown-friendly early schedule with four of the first six at PayPal.

“We’ve got a lively bunch and a hungry bunch and we have to take care of games at home, it’s going to be very crucial, especially in this league,” Munie, a former first-round pick with explosive speed, said.

The Quakes let in a poor 63 goals last season, and Arena felt a young but talented group in the back showed promise. “They’re very athletic and I think as they continue to get experience they’re gonna get better, and we saw in preseason that we were better,” Arena said.

Munie shined in the preseason when the team had a pair of shutouts, anchored by keeper Daniel.

“Last year wasn’t great for us defensively, but with our defensive pressure we also created a lot of goals, so it was kind of the style of play we played last year,” Munie said. “This year we changed formations a little bit.”

Young attacking midfielder Niko Tsakiris, 20, in his fifth season with the club after graduating from the Quakes Academy at 16 years old, signed a new multiyear U22 Initiative Player Contract on Wednesday. He scored the winning goal on a deft free kick against Austin FC on Decision Day last season, opening his MLS account. He had two goals for the US U-20 World Cup team, and shined in the MLS preseason.

He is excited to be able to link up with San Jose’s Leroux in the midfield this season.

“Me and Beau have a great relationship off the field and on the field that chemistry is getting stronger,” Tsakiris said.

Last season ended with a heartfelt win and a heartbreaking reality for the Quakes. They missed the playoffs via a tiebreaker in what was generally considered a turnaround campaign. They nearly doubled their win total from 2024 with 11 victories.

“I think we had a lot of young promising players that had opportunities in 2025; some days were good, and some days were not,” Arena said. “We think those experiences are going to be invaluable as we enter 2026.”

Note: The Earthquakes signed second-round pick D Jack Jasinski to a contract for 2026 with club options through 2028-29.