Could Christian Pulisic change positions at AC Milan? Here's what friendly tells us about USA star's role

The American international played the first half against Arsenal as a striker, but could this be a sign of things to come?

The 2025-26 preseason has officially started as AC Milan played their first match against Arsenal on Wednesday in Singapore, with American Christian Pulisic playing in a new role. The Rossoneri lost 1-0 after the deciding goal of English star Bukayo Saka, who scored the winning goal in the second half, but all the eyes were on the first match of the team now coached by Massimiliano Allegri, who made his comeback at the Italian club this summer. 

Despite the result and the first impressions that are not necessarily relevant at this stage, it's worth mentioning the new role of Pulisic in the first match against Arsenal, as the American international played as a striker alongside Rafael Leao in the first half before being replaced by Noah Okafor at halftime.   

Here's what to know: 

How USMNT star Christian Pulisic and Luka Modric fit into AC Milan manager Max Allegri's plans

Francesco Porzio

Why did Pulisic play as a striker?

Allegri's team lined up with a 3-5-2 formation against Arsenal on Wednesday, with Pulisic playing alongside Leao in the attack. This mainly happened because AC Milan sport director Igli Tare is still looking for a new striker, a number nine, to add to the roster after both Luka Jovic and Tammy Abraham left the Rossoneri with their contracts expiring on June 30 this summer. At the moment, 23-year-old striker Lorenzo Colombo is expected to leave on loan and was rested against Arsenal, while Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez will be back in the first days of August. 

This is why Allegri needed to try something different and tested a lineup with two wingers playing in the attack together. It turned out to be an interesting experiment for multiple reasons. First of all, Pulisic played on the left side of the attack, and most of his 34 touches in the first half arrived on that portion of the field, where his natural role is, even if at AC Milan, he mostly played as a right winger in the 4-3-3 over the last two years.

This role can also help Portuguese winger Leao to be free to move around the attack with no defensive responsibilities. This could all change if AC Milan sign a new striker or when Gimenez returns, but Leao looked definitely comfortable playing in this role and maybe playing with a proper number nine next to him can improve his performances even more. 

Despite not having a single shot in the 45 minutes played, Pulisic looked like he can give more in this position. Of course, this was just the first time that it happened, as he had played before as right or left winger and occasionally behind the striker. This new role is a mix of playing as a No. 10 behind a central striker but also moving to the left in both defensive and attacking phases. It's early to say if this tactical test could be replicated or not, but it's definitely something that will stay in the mind of the Italian coach in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the new season. It's also likely to catch the eye of USA coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has his own striker issues.

Speaking after the match to Milan TV, Allegri spoke on the new roles of Leao and Pulisic.

"Leao put in an excellent performance, just like all the other players. I'm satisfied with him. When we lose, even in a friendly, I'm never completely happy, but now it's important to prepare well for the rest of the season. And it should be noted that we were facing one of the strongest teams in Europe. For sixty minutes, we played on par with them."

What's next?

It will be a challenging season for the Rossoneri, as AC Milan won't play European competitions after failing to qualify last campaign, and they will only have the domestic league and the Coppa Italia to worry about, pinpointing Champions League qualification as the No. 1 goal.

The match on Wednesday was, for some odd reason, followed by a penalty shootout despite not ending in a tie, which the Italians won 6-5, and the hero of the night in Singapore was Italian goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani, who saved three shots on Martin Odegaard, Jakub Kiwior and Reiss Nelson.

Milan return to action Saturday in a friendly against Liverpool at 7:30 a.m. ET live on Golazo Network.