Arsenal Internationals

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/9607135/Arsenal-forward-Theo-Walcott-ruled-out-of-Englands-World-Cup-qualifier-with-Poland-after-bruising-lung.html

bruised lung...

"it is understood that he has suffered a bruised lung, an extremely painful injury usually associated with car or bicycle accidents."

Fucking wreckless keeper

Broken rib, bruised lung. How long is he out? What does this mean for contract negotiations? With Borini out with a broken foot, interest from Liverpool would've surely been strong, but what about now?


How intriguing.

Fuck this! Theo's last two performances were very good.

I haven't read anything definitive but it will be quite a while before Walcott can play again I would think, much more game time for Chamberlain I would imagine and now looks like keeping Arshavin on the books was sensible, im sure he will make the bench, some.

Whilst it is bad for Arsenal and Walcott, there are many other players that would be missed first.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/spain-1-france-1/

Giroud's stoppage time goal for France in a 1-1 draw against Spain begins at 1:50. Very nice header.

Yeah really nice, should lift him even more and he should come back full of beans.

I was watching this game with a Real Madrid/Spain fan and I called it at half time. Then Giroud came on and I'm like watch, he's gonna score. Then he scored. My friend didn't seem too happy, seeing Benzema go off injured and his beloved Spain drop points, but I don't care.

Was lovely to see Giroud and Cazorla hug it out at the end of the game too.

After Desailly talking up Kos' potential, very clumsy penalty to give away.

After watching the Germany v Sweden highlights, I can't see that Mertersacker was at fault for any of the goals. Maybe even fouled for the last one (I think that was him, hard to see on the small screen). What a game though!

^think it was a case of being one of those nights rather than poor defending on Germany's part. very entertaining game!

Jack Wilshere, Carl Jenkinson
Sweden 4-2 England, November 14
Carl Jenkinson made his England debut in a 4-2 friendly defeat against Sweden on Wednesday night. The Arsenal defender replaced Glen Johnson after 74 minutes to become the 62nd Arsenal player to represent the Three Lions. Jack Wilshere was also a second-half substitute in Stockholm, coming on after 61 minutes to make his first international appearance since June 2011. Wilshere was booked for a foul on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who stole the show with four goals - including an incredible overhead kick from 25 yards.

Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny
Italy 1-2 France, November 14
Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud both started France's win against Italy in Parma. Koscielny played the full 90 minutes, while Giroud was substituted just after the hour.

Joel Campbell
Bolivia 1-1 Costa Rica, November 15
Joel Campbell gave Costa Rica the lead in their draw with Bolivia. The striker opened the scoring after 72 minutes.

Nicklas Bendtner
Turkey 1-1 Denmark, November 14
Nicklas Bendtner was on target in Denmark’s draw against Turkey. The striker scored from the penalty spot after 65 minutes.

Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker
Holland 0-0 Germany
Lukas Podolski came on after 72 minutes as Germany drew against Holland. Per Mertesacker played the whole game.

Johan Djourou
Tunisia 1-2 Switzerland, November 14
Johan Djourou played the entirety of Switzerland’s last-gasp win against Tunisia.

Santi Cazorla
Panama 1-5 Spain, November 14
Santi Cazorla did not feature as Spain comfortably saw off Panama.

Benik Afobe
England U-21s 2-0 Northern Ireland U-21s, November 13
Benik Afobe came off the bench and scored as England Under-21s beat Northern Ireland. The striker was brought on after an hour and dispatched a penalty 15 minutes later, having been felled in the area.



Happy for Jenkinson to make his debut and for Cazorla not to play at all. But is there any need to take him all the way to Panama if you weren't going to use him? He will be battered by the time he returns to London.

We have 13 internationals playing today, I hope none of them plays. In all seriousness though, they're all playing friendlies and it would be nice if none of our players picks up a needless injury. The only ones who can benefit from this are Koscielny and Rosicky who need some game time. Whilst the former is getting some game time, you could see his performances this season have been far from what we know he can do. A bit of game time won't hurt him.

Theo is taking some knocks in the England game....preparing myself for him coming back injured...

Arsenal boys created the opening for the first England goal Rooney slots in an easy one and the pundits go ape for Rooney....biased much!?!?! Cunts...

Great performance from both our England boys, hate to be a pessimist though but Walcott looked like he had a knock and went straight for treatment and Wilshere played the whole game.....:-(

Jenks1981 wrote:Great performance from both our England boys, hate to be a pessimist though but Walcott looked like he had a knock and went straight for treatment and Wilshere played the whole game.....:-(

Sami Mokbel‏@SamiMokbel81_DM
Uh oh! Theo Walcott has just limped through the mix zone at Wembley. Just a slight hobble, mind. #AFC
Retweeted by John Cross

No idea who the guy is but John Cross retweeted that after the game so you may be right.

Rumours on twitter that Ramsey and Koscielny both injured as well, no idea how serious

That's just poor luck if Ramsey, Koscielny, and Walcott are all injured.

Was worried about Walcott and Jack too. Watched the game, Theo was uneasy when walking (and still had blistering pace to deliver one dangerous ball after the other from the right hand side).

On a brighter note...

Jack Wilshere's display against Brazil excites England fans

Jack Wilshere has a lot of lost time to make up for - so he will offer no apologies for reducing England boss Roy Hodgson's attempts at expectation management to an exercise in futility.

As a sell-out Wembley rose to acclaim Wilshere when he was voted man of the match in England's 2-1 win against Brazil, the world was suddenly a better place to be for Hodgson.

If Arsenal's 21-year-old midfield man had waited patiently for this moment of fulfilment after those 15 months out with an ankle injury, Hodgson had also had to bide his time before placing a pivotal piece into his emerging England team.

Brazil's Neymar suggested before the game that England were a one-man team - that one man being Wayne Rooney. He may wish to revisit his opinion after a close encounter with Wilshere.

Hodgson, delighted by a highly promising England performance, admitted he had tried to keep a lid on the high hopes surrounding Wilshere as the Arsenal midfielder prepared to win only his seventh cap in an injury-curtailed young career. Hodgson walked into Wembley's media theatre for the post-match briefing with the notion forgotten, saying: "As long as Jack is comfortable with the expectations why should I worry?"

Wilshere was making his first start under Hodgson and his first start in midfield alongside England captain Steven Gerrard. Their international paths had only previously crossed for 13 minutes during the friendly defeat in Stockholm. On this evidence they looked an ideal combination of maturity and fearless youth.

And while we must place all things in the context of this not being a vintage Brazil, ranked 18th in the world and in the process of construction towards the World Cup in their own country next year, Wilshere's performance was worthy of the excitement and optimism it generated.

Any win against Brazil carries weight and Wilshere was the heartbeat of a victory that was only England's fourth against them in 24 attempts. From a surging run in the opening seconds to a small, vital interception on Neymar in the closing moments, he was England's driving force.

In a week when the football world, particularly in England, is expressing its concern for the welfare of Paul Gascoigne as he once more struggles with his demons, there were moments when Wilshere offered a poignant flashback to the Geordie in his pomp.

The puffed out chest and positive ball-carrying intent, the willingness to dribble, offered an echo of Gascoigne alongside a relentless desire to create and provide for the likes of Wayne Rooney, another significant England figure at Wembley.

Wilshere relished the physical challenges, set up an early chance for Danny Welbeck and provided a perfect pass for Theo Walcott that led to Rooney's opening goal. The concession of a penalty when being adjudged to have handled Ronaldinho's cross may constitute marks off, but this was a harsh award and Joe Hart assured a measure of justice by saving the great Brazilian's spot-kick.

The sight of those famous yellow Brazilian shirts in opposition did nothing to daunt Wilshere. He looked perfectly at home in opposition and in some moments he suggested he would look perfectly at home alongside them.

In boxing parlance, Wilshere's passing offers the sort of short, sharp blows to the opponent's body that can do real damage while Gerrard was happy to adopt a role that allowed him to control affairs from a deeper position.

If a few England brows were furrowed at the prospect of that testing trip to Podgorica to face Montenegro in a crucial World Cup qualifier next month, the restoration of Wilshere to the colours will ease some, not all, of those concerns.

England will need Wilshere at his best in Montenegro's hostile environment against a team that is an increasing danger to their ambitions of World Cup qualification.

There was plenty to satisfy Hodgson. Walcott demonstrated his recent fine form on the right flank and England embraced their manager's willingness to move even further away from the 4-4-2 formation that was his template for so long.

Ashley Cole was warmly welcomed by Wembley as he won his 100th cap although this good impression from the crowd was marred by a very poor observation of the minute's silence to mark the 55th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, 20 years since the death of England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore and to commemorate the victims of the recent Santa Maria fire in Brazil.

If Wilshere is now finally embarking on what should be a long England road, the game was settled by one of their most enduring figures as Frank Lampard scored his 27th international goal on the hour.

This perfect professional simply refuses to go quietly, either for Chelsea or England. The natural instinct for goals means he can still make the contribution that wins games and even at 34 he is of service to Hodgson.

Hodgson admitted as much with a clanging post-match hint that if Lampard did not stay at Stamford Bridge he would prefer him to remain in England or elsewhere in Europe to make it easier to prolong his England career. The prospect of Lampard moving to LA Galaxy clearly does not fill Hodgson's heart with joy.

Happily for England's manager, Wilshere has pledged his long-term future to Arsenal and will remain right under his nose for many years to come.

England were not facing a prime time Brazil but it is a hard heart that does not give full credit for a victory against them. Not a time to get carried away but not a time to pour cold water on the achievement either.

Brazil will be a different proposition in Rio in June and Montenegro will present an altogether different challenge on their home territory - but there is no reason why Hodgson and England cannot be very happy with their night's work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21364100

Jack and Theo were definitely England's best two players. It was a very entertaining game.

Theo injured while The Ox, Giroud, and Ramsey all score for their countries. Ramsey suspended from the next match because he got a red.

Monreal the only non Barca or Real player in Spain's starting XI away to France. He assisted their only goal to Pedro. By the sounds of it had a good game.

No Arsenal player played for England, Ramsey was suspended, Koscielny played the game for France but Giroud only got the last 2 minutes. Cazorla was an unused sub.

Vermaelen played a full game for Beligum in defence with Kompany and Vertohgen.

So no problems from yesterday. Did Mertesacker play?