St Louis City v San Jose Earthquakes: Arena insists West leaders ´have to improve´

San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena insisted his side still need to improve despite leading the Western Conference.

The Earthquakes thrashed Austin FC 5-1 during the week, seeing them move three points clear at the top of the West ahead of their trip to St Louis City.

No team in the conference have scored more than San Jose’s 22 (level with the Vancouver Whitecaps), while only the Seattle Sounders (three), who have played two fewer games, have conceded fewer goals than the Earthquakes (four).

Despite San Jose’s impressive start to the 2026 campaign, Arena believes it will not matter unless they continue their form in the second half of the season.

“We have to improve. If we don’t improve, we’re probably going to be a team that’s scrambling to make the playoffs,” said Arena.

“So the goal here is to continue to work to get better, and we need to be patient. This is not going to be [a consistent upward trend], there are going to be a few peaks and valleys along the way. We’ve got to be prepared for that.

“But if we continue to work hard and learn from our mistakes, I think we can be a good team for the second half of the season.

“First half of the season, at some point you get thrown out the window. It’s all going to come down to the second half of the season.

“So it’s great to have a good start, but again, it’s a grind. We have another 25 games left. There’s a lot of soccer be played.

“We’re really pleased with the group to date. But this is a long haul. We got to be prepared for not only the good days, but some of the days that aren’t so good.”