International Gunner Watch - France Lost Again!?

Belarus won. In France. Pic via ESPN.

Here's your Friday recap of international matches involving Arsenal players:

Belgium 0 - 1 Germany
Thomas Vermaelen played all 90 minutes for the Belgians, who lost thanks to Miroslav Klose's 51st minute goal.


Andorra 0 - 2 Russia
Andrei Arshavin played all 90 minutes as well, as Russia picked up a brace from Pavel Pogrebniak. In this qualifying match for 2008, Arshavin was sent off.


France 0 - 1 Belarus
Things just aren't getting better for France's national team, are they? Clichy, Sagna, and Diaby played all 90.



San Marnio 0 - 5 Netherlands

Robin van Persie's hurt, of course, but the Oranje didn't seem to need him.

England 4 - 0 Bulgaria
Theo Walcott was not quite in the form he has been in with Arsenal lately; Jermain Defoe picked up a hat trick at Wembley, but Spurs center back Michael Dawson left with what looked like a serious knee injury. Kieran Gibbs did not feature.

Liechtenstein 0 - 4 Spain
Cesc Fabregas played the second half; Fernando Torres and David Villa each had a brace.

UNDER-21's:

Portugal 0 - 1 England
Jack Wilshere did not appear off the bench, but Daniel Sturridge's goal kept England alive.

Ukraine 2 - 2 France
Now on loan Armand Traore was not named in the squad for France's draw, which eliminated them from qualification.

Bosnia 0 - 1 Italy
Vito Mannone kept a clean sheet as Italy stayed alive in Sarajevo.

Finland 2- 0 Poland
Poland was eliminated; Wojciech Szczesny was not named in the squad.

International Gunner Watch - Euro Qualifiers, Round 1

Qualifying for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship begins this week, which means a number of Arsenal players will be out on international duty during this, the first international break of the 2010/11 Premier League season. Of course, not all of Arsenal's international players are European; in fact, only nine of the 17 Gunners on international duty this weekend will be participating in Euro qualifiers. Four more will be playing for Under-21 European squads, while four will be playing in African Cup of Nations qualifiers. All this, and Carlos Vela in a Mexican friendly...

FRANCE: Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy
Four Gunners went to South Africa representing France and three came back (*coughGallasisatraitorcough*) ... Samir Nasri could have been named to this weekend's squad had he not been injured and Sebastien Squillaci, Arsenal's newest signing, was not named to Laurent Blanc's squad.

France is in Group D of qualifying, up against Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, and Luxembourg. France will host Belarus in Saint-Denis on Friday, then travel to Sarajevo to play Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.

ENGLAND: Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs
England is 12-0 when Theo Walcott plays while Kieran Gibbs has earned his second call-up. Jack Wilshere was dropped to the U-21 squad, so more the peacemaker later. England is in Group G, with Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, and Montenegro.

England hosts Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday and will play Switzerland in Basel on Tuesday.

SPAIN: Cesc Fabregas
Those Barcelona players get another chance to tap-up our captain this week, which is just fan-frickin'-tastic. Spain is in Group I with Rosicky's Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, and Lichtenstein. Spain will play Lichtenstein in Vaduz on Friday, but with only five teams in the group, the World Cup champions will not play on Tuesday. Maybe that means we get Cesc back in training sooner, please?

CZECH REPUBLIC: Tomas Rosicky
As mentioned in the above paragraph, Rosicky's Czech Republic are in the same group as Spain. They will have off on Friday, then on Tuesday, they'll host Lithuania in Olomouc.

BELGIUM: Thomas Vermaelen
Belgium and their captain Vermaelen do not have an easy trip into the Euro 2012 as they are in Group A with Germany, Turkey, Austria, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Belgium will host the Germans in Brussels on Friday night, which would be a huge win. Tuesday, they travel to Istanbul to play Turkey.

RUSSIA: Andrei Arshavin
Arshavin and the Russians missed out on a trip to the World Cup in the final play-off round of qualifying but are in Group B here, along with Slovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, and Andorra. Russia starts with Andorra in Andorra-la-Vella on Friday, then hosts Slovakia in Moscow on Tuesday.

ENGLAND U-21: Jack Wilshere
Recently arrested Jack Wilshere has been dropped from the senior squad to the Under-21 squad (though, that's not related.) In their U-21 qualifiers, they'll play Portugal in Barcelos on Friday, then host Lithuania in Colchester on Tuesday. These are the last two U-21 qualifiers, with that tournament being held in 2011. England is second in Group 9, behind Greece. England could be eliminated with a loss to Portugal.

FRANCE U-21: Armand Traore
Traore, now on loan to Juventus, will play with France's Under-21 squad as they play the Ukraine in Kiev on Friday and Malta in Amiens on Tuesday. France is in third in Group 8; they'll be eliminated with a loss to Ukraine or a draw if Belgium picks up at least a point against Slovenia.

ITALY U-21: Vito Mannone
I'm not sure if Mannone starts for the Italian U-21 squad. I do know that he's 22 years old now. Italy is third in group 3. They'll play Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on Friday and Wales in Pescara on Tuesday.

POLAND U-21: Wojciech Szczesny
Our young future #1 keeper is in group 4, where Poland sits in third place as well, behind Holland who have already qualified and Spain. Poland will play Finland in Pori on Friday and Spain in Grodzisk Wielkopolski on Tuesday. Poland will be eliminated on Friday if they don't beat Finland or Spain wins against the Netherlands.

It looks like all four of these Under-21 teams could be eliminated by the end of the week.

IVORY COAST: Emmanuel Eboue
Ivory Coast are in Group H of 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, along with Benin, Rwanda, and Burundi. The Elephants will host Rwanda on Friday in their first qualifier.

CAMEROON: Alex Song
The Indomitable Lions are in Group E with Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mauritius. Cameroon in this round will play Mauritius in Curepipe on Saturday.

MOROCCO: Marouane Chamakh
Morocco is in Group D with Tanzania, Algeria, and Central African Republic. The Lions of the Atlas will host Central African Republic in Rabat on Saturday.

MEXICO: Carlos Vela
It's a friendly for Carlos Vela and Mexico. They'll play Ecuador in Guadalajara on Saturday.

News Roundup 8/30/10 - The Fracas Edition

Since there are very few official details about this incident, how about we just all jump to ridiculous conclusions? Pic via Guardian.

• Jack Wilshere was arrested in the early morning hours on Sunday for being involved in a "fracas" during which a woman suffered a broken and dislocated elbow. He was released on bail and is "unlikely to face charges." It appears he was attempting to be a peacemaker but remains an important witness. [Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sky Sports]
• Arsene Wenger invoked the name Ryan Shawcross in a press conference on Thursday, not in reference to last year's Aaron Ramsey incident, but in reference to Stoke City's tactics of bumping the goalkeeper, saying it was turning the game into rugby... [Arsenal.com]
• ...and in a preposterous overreaction, Stoke manager Tony Pulis has decided to lodge a formal complaint to the FA, in a statement which for absolutely no reason contains references to World Wars I and II. [Sky Sports]
• Wait? Let me get this straight... Inter Milan submitted a transfer bid for Cesc Fabregas that was less than the first insulting bid Arsenal turned down from Barcelona? This story doesn't even make sense. Tabloid fodder? [Daily Mail, Daily Mirror]
• Armand Traore might be loaned to Birmingham or Juventus. [Sky Sports, Daily Mail]
• Arsenal has drawn Tottenham away in the third round of the Carling Cup, to be played the week of September 20. Arsenal will likely play reserves, as they do in this competition. I expect Tottenham to play their standard line-up. This means Tottenham will probably win, brag about it until the first league meeting in November, and release a special edition DVD of the match the following morning. Poor predictable Spurs. [Guardian]

News Roundup 3/17/10 - The Disgraced Striker Edition

I believe I can fly! Pic via Daily Mail.

• Chelsea came crashing out of the Champions League yesterday with a 1-0 loss at Stamford Bridge to Internazionale, losing the tie 3-1 on aggregate. Didier Drogba was sent off late for stamping on the calf of an Inter defender. The Daily Mail has this great retrospective of Drogba's past disgraces that is sure to brighten any Gooner's day. [Daily Mail]
• Alex Song, serving his two match ban, watched Arsenal's game against Hull on Saturday with his family, and talks about how he celebrated Bendtner's winner: "I jumped everywhere. I was watching it with my son and he did not know what was happening. But when Nicklas scored I just said ‘yeeeeeessssssss’." That's pretty much what I did too, but I'll bet I was more drunk. [Arsenal.com]
• On the injury front, Cesc Fabregas has resumed full training, as has Tomas Rosicky. William Gallas might return to training soon. [Daily Mirror]
• Andrei Arshavin and his wife Julia were involved in a small car accident on Monday. He's fine. For some reason, both of these articles on the incident talk a lot about Theo Walcott. [Guardian, Daily Mirror]
• We've mentioned Arsenal's interest in Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen before. Arsene Wenger has earmarked the 18-year-old player to be signed once his contract runs out in 2011. Now we play the waiting game... *twiddles thumbs nervously* [Guardian]
• Armand Traore wants to some day play for Paris Saint-Germain. I spent five minutes trying to come up with something snarky to say here, but there's really just nothing. [ESPN Soccernet]

A Treatise on Arsenal's Defense's Ability to Drive Me to Insanity

As we quickly approach an absolutely critical point in the season, I have to ask: would we be having this conversation if Johan Djourou didn't destroy his knee on international duty in August?

Gooners, we're on the brink of a month of hell, starting a week from Sunday. Just two matches, both against Bolton, separate us from:

• Day 1: FA Cup tie at Stoke City
• Day 4: at Aston Villa
• Day 8: vs. Manchester United
• Day 15: at Chelsea
• Day 18: vs. Liverpool
• Day 21 or 22: Potential fifth round FA Cup tie
• Day 25: Champions League at FC Porto

Who scheduled that? Bastards!

Anyway, surviving that stretch with any chance of still winning the league will require a few things: a squad that's healthier than it is now AND remains healthy, a few dependable goal scoring options, and most importantly, a defense that can clamp down on some of the top offenses in the country.

Now, Arsenal might have drawn a break for one of those matches with a rash of injuries hitting Anfield yesterday, but with that match still around four weeks away, Steven Gerrard should be back by then as well as Yossi Benayoun (thankfully, Fernando Torres will not).

The team certainly is getting healthier: Cesc Fabregas is back this week, Gael Clichy is just about fit, and Nicklas Bendtner should be available soon as well. Alex Song would be back from the Africa Cup as late as the Chelsea match (is it wrong to root against Cameroon in the hopes that he'll return faster?) This leaves the defense as the wild card.

Sol Campbell is back! But what exactly does this mean? Are our title hopes hinging on a 35-year-old? Certainly he has the experience to carry the team through a stretch like this, but aside from making sure the rest of the team doesn't freak out with pressure, what else is that going to bring if he can't keep up? Of course, we don't know yet if he can't keep up, and Arsene Wenger has praised Campbell's fitness. So, here's what we do know:

• William Gallas isn't 100% fit. He's also not hurt enough to sit out yet, but the situation is a lot like playing with fire. Without a back-up plan, the team could get burned. I'm not exactly sure what a good back-up plan would be when playing with fire... maybe keep some extra fire extinguishers around. This is probably the worst extended metaphor I've ever written in my life... how am I gonna get around this one?
  
• Sol Campbell is, therefore, an extra fire extinguisher (there, I did it!)
• Bacary Sagna has been dependable on the right side, as has Tom Vermaelen in the middle.
• This has all led to Philippe Senderos to lean toward jumping ship. With Campbell likely out of the picture again at season's end, this means a desperately needed signing in the summer.
• Gael Clichy is on his way back and Armand Traore has been serviceable on the left side in the absence of Clichy and Kieran Gibbs (who is still out for a while with a hole in his foot).
• Johan Djorou is done for the year after knee surgery.
• I would not trust Mikael Silvestre against Man U, Chelsea, Villa, or Liverpool.
• Extended to goalkeeping, the defense at the present time, clearly no longer trusts Manuel Almunia, and I don't blame them. Any cross into the box... is he gonna catch it? Is he gonna punch it right to the other team (Kuyt's goal at Anfield in December)? Is he gonna collide with as many people as possible while the ball rolls away (post-Rosicky's equalizer against Everton on Saturday)? Every cross is a game of Russian Roulette now.
  

So, what does this mean? Best case scenario: Gallas stays fit, Clichy returns, and everyone magically stays healthy. And Almunia becomes suddenly decisive. Worst case? Another rash of injuries and a few reserve call-ups to stabilize?

It's going to be a nail biting month, isn't it?