Morning all.
A few years agoΒ Sven-GΓΆran Eriksson, during a moment of madness, decided to include Theo Walcott in his squad for the 2006 World Cup. The entire nation was shocked, no doubt the player was too. To be honest, looking back, I suspect the then manager wishes he’d never selected him and to this day, I don’t really know why he did as he didn’t play him….
I don’t think there has been such a shock call-up for any player representing any country since.
However, there might be in 2014.
The German coaching team are always out and about watching current players to check their form as well as keeping tabs on players who are on the cusp of making a breakthrough but whenΒ Joachim Low and his assistant Hansi Flick went to watch Mesut Ozil play for us against Swansea back in September, it was Serge Gnabry who caught their eye:
The boy is really good. He has exceptional qualities.
I’m still open [to him making the World Cup squad]. We have an eye on him.
Serge Gnabry has a bit more, correction, a lot more first team experience than Theo Walcott had when he was called up for England but then the young German is two years older. Theo hadn’t featured in a solitary league fixture back in May 2006 when Sven named his squad whereas Gnabry has featured in the league, the League Cup and in the Champions League.
Arsene Wenger rates him highly:
Β We signed Serge Gnabry because I believe that he will be a great player.Β He’s nearly there now, and competes for a regular place in the team in the Premier League.
He has technical ability, he has power, he has pace, he has finishing quality and he can give a final ball.Β He’s a powerful offensiveΒ playerΒ and I believe that he will be a great player for Arsenal football club.
He’s already played for Germany through the respective age groups but would this be a crazy call up for the full German squad?
No, I don’t think so, there’s six months left of this seasons campaign and I strongly suspect that Serge Gnabry will get a lot of playing time during those months. By the time next summers competition arrives, he’ll be 19 years old and he’ll be a very good player for Germany to have in their squad.
Talking of Germany, why can’t Mertesacker head home crosses for us like he did for his country last night? It was such a fine finish from our big man. In fact he had a very good game yet again and is clearly over the bug he had….
In other internationals, Santo Cazorla played 45 minutes for Spain, Nacho Monreal however, played the full 90 minutes.
Kieran Gibbs came off the bench to play the last half an hour, Jack Wilshere followed him ten minutes later.
Carl Jenkinson played the entire match for England under 21’s as they battered San Marino 9-0, he even managed to get on the score-sheet.
Finally, and there is only one place to end really and that’s with a big well done to France. Who’d have thought they would overturn a 2-0 deficit against Ukraine and qualify for the 2014 World Cup… Giroud came on for the last 8 minutes.
All in all, most of our first team players had a pretty good rest over the last two weeks and should be ready to take on a strong Southampton side on Saturday…
That’s it from me for another day…..
Maybe the German’s have seen enough of Serge to get him a cap now rather than wait for another crazy E.U. law to dig up a great grandad from our Imperial empire and Roy to try and jump the gun.
BTW , we don’t centre like that it takes all the fun out of hitting the first man.
Ha ha Potter, but so true…
Don’t know if you caught my comment on the last post. Sorry to hear your news and hope all is well with you now. Best you take it easy for a while…
Maybe we need to change that, his header last night was so good, firm, fast and left Hart no chance…
I’m really surprised he doesn’t score more for us from free kicks/corners.
Morning all. Even some of our finest, including TH, used to hit first man from corners!
Morning alll
I didn’t watched England yesterday.
Was the performance very bad?
Just need to find the right corner taker Ah, I think TW was taking before he got injured, his went a bit deeper I think…
Not really JM, just no end product, at times they were quite good. Mind you, there was a lot of Germany’s better players missing.
Thanks Rico < this aging process is a risky business. I had a heart attack a couple of years ago , the day after Eboue gave away a stupid penalty in the 10th minute of injury time against Liverpool , I blame him. and with my previous history as my blood pressure went through the roof they dragged me in for tests. They have reinstated a drug that I took originally and the blood pressure went down almost immediately.
We just felt that with hailstones and sleet coming off the North Sea that the log fire was a better bet than the Jarrold stand and a Delia sausage roll.
I will talk today to people that went and see if I can get some more second hand insight.
hi again HHers,
Pleased to hear you are on the mend Potter… the match report was just a bit of banter btw so no pressure Sir.
You are not friends with JW one of Rico’s ex-regular posters from Norwich btw? π
Good read Rico…talking about Serge I am surprised Drogba has not tried to recruit him for Ivory Coast yet…
They should leave the boy alone or else after going to the world cup,he’ll come back clamouring for a regular shirt in an Arsenal shirt which i dont think he can get anytime soon.
TS here’s a taster
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/3-nutmegs-in-arsenals-benik-afobe-scores-a-super-solo-goal-for-the-u21s-against-norwich/
You don’t get the caps Mert has without being quality but i do feel the move the England has taken him a step further. He is quite the commander now.
Great to give PM4 a mention MOTM for me solid at the back had three different center half partners in one game and didn’t look shaky even once solid game and I hope he can add that to his game for club.
About the goal Englands defending was cr*p which did help the big man but stay a great header from him well done PM4 long may it continue.
Just glad to hear you are on the mend Potter. I’d blame Eboue too π
Totally agree about the logfire and staying at home, to avoid the Delia sausage roll was reason enough…
I often wonder where JW went Ts, hope his health is good.. Thanks re the post btw..
You know Oz, I was all for him going back to Germany at times. His lack of pace, clumsiness all seemed to cost us dear all too often, but since that loss at WHL, he has improved no end.
I think playing alongside Kos on a regular basis has helped them both, they have got used to each other’s game.
Maybe it took him a while to settle and get used to the PL. Good job I wasn’t let near selling players, I’d have got that one wrong, very wrong…
Morning All…
Morning Rico, l thought that BFG was top class again last evening. He should be Arsenal captain!
Potter, you take care now, I know how you feel mate…
Can England get Holtby as he is not getting games with the Krauts… ? We could do with him as a no.10 imo…
I was very impressed with Ross Backley when he came on… he reminds me of a leaner and granny-free Wooney. π lol
JW came on for the last 20 minutes and got his usual kicking from none other than Bender…
I think Serge going to the world cup was a bit of lip service to be honest… The krauts are missing Schweingsteiger, Ozil, Gomez, Poldi; Then there are players like Schurlle, Sydney Sam and Draxler on the fringes of the squad who can play in his role…
not forgetting Gundugan and Kheidira who may miss the world cup completely due to injuries unless they came back.
Then there are the u-21’s like Hoffman, Bittencourt and Neuman who play more games for their clubs in the bundesliga…
Same here Rico, re JW… hope its just the none existing ‘negativity’ and his grand kids that is keeping him away. π
Hi kev… I agree the Panzer was absolutely immense last night…
Last season some journos and so called experts were even calling for Jansen of all players to replace our BFG in central defence when the Hummels and Per partnership was leaking goals like Stepanovs and Luzhny at old trafford. lol
Cheers Potter for the video link…
It looks like all of Kev’s kids ie Toral, Afobe etc are playing well…
It is also good to see Frimpong play another 90 minutes under his belt and playing the box to box role very well too when needed and covering Hayden when he bombs forward…
Do you think Jennaris will get the chance as a RB cover now that he is fit?
hi rico, welldone to the french for the qualification,this will keep our frenchmen fully focused for the rest of the season, as for Gnabry its so sad he is not English…cant wait for saturday for real Football.
Morning Kev, motm for for me, he was so good. I noticed Rooney tried to cause him an injury towards the end….
True Rico, I think he would have won the motm award if Kroos was not as influential as he was last night… an amazing player.
I wish JW will learn to play like Toni Kroos who has been transformed from a no.10 to a DM within a few months and is already one of BM’s and Germany’s most influential players…
I hope TV’s confidence has not taken a beaten with Belgium being beaten 2-0 twice during the interlude…
Hi Tim, I didn’t expect France to do it, but once Ukraine were down to ten, only one winner eh…
Goodmorning Gunners,
Good post rico
Can I come out now since the interlull is over? π
Now onto proper football till march when we have the next interlull
tsgh – the Belgium v Japan match ended 2-3. Vermaelen did ok, it was Van buyten who was all over the place.
England still got a long way to go. I guess hodgson will revert to his traditional 4-4-2 when the WC2014 begins. He hasn’t got the personnel for 4-2-3-1 or rather he still can’t fit in square pegs in square holes. Until England understands what a patient build up play is they will still be light years behind the elites(Brazil, Germany etc). Gerrard should stop hitting those hollywood passes, Townsend should understand that FIFA will not be increasing the size of the goal post anytime soon and stop hitting row zzzzzz. ;). Rooney should be making intelligent runs and not running round the pitch like a headless chicken π Lampard’s leg has gone past it. If I were Hodgson the WC should lay the foundation for the future because there is no way they will get past the second round bar miracle. Use it to breed young players and lay the platform for the future.
Well done Rico. I hate all these ‘friendly’ internationals but your Post summary made the whole thing interesting.
I would like to see Gnabry get more game time because he is clearly something a bit special.
tsgh
The U21’s played well it seems and I was pleased that Afobe had a super game, after all his injuries.
But then I learn that he had to come off with another hamstring problem. Afobe is rapidly becoming a ‘sick note’ merchant unfortunately.
Thanks emma – you can, and no injuries which is great news…
Thanks Hb, boring is an understatement π
Agree on Gnabry and if not games, certainly more time from the bench. I think he’ll push TW for his place as the weeks go by..
Welcome Mo11, sorry for the delay letting you out of moderation..
Hiya Emma, long long time… thanks re the Belgium results… I switched off after awhile watching Hazard trying to be like Platini… lol
I agree about England; watching JW over the last 2 games makes me think it is England who are skewing his positioningand development etc. It looks like anytime he is improving he goes and play for England and gets fed the wrong footballing gospel and comes back to square 1.
HB, Afobe was once touted as a future TH and Drogba combo.. I am pleased he is back; the Bolton loan was a waste of time in my opinion as Bolton was set up to play to Kevin Davies’s strength…
Tim – Good point on our french players qualifying for the WC. I was really worried about the mental state of Giroud and Kos if they fail to qualify. Giroud mentioning they were going to die on the pitch even got me scared the more π π
Emma- I thought Gerrard was ok but I like him as a player so I will always be biased I guess… π
‘Townsend should understand that FIFA will not be increasing the size of the goal post anytime soon and stop hitting row zzzzzz.’ lmfao.
I thought Townsend epitomizes everything that is wrong with English football. He is a very good player nonetheless, but it is annoying to hear the commentators say how EXCITING he is when he runs with the ball into no mans land and then we lose possession…; there is no thought process behind any move he makes.
Its amazing how England missed the industry of Welbeck ove rthis break imho… Lalana was quite good too but again I found he was not as intelligent compared to when he is playing when the Saints made of some very good foreign players…
Andy Townsend is called Mr Row Z at the shite -heart lane for a reason after all. π
That’s funny re Townsend Ts, I read a cracking comment on LG last night ref him..
A chap on there said something like:
‘Townsend reminds me of the post lady on my birthday, quite sexy but delivers nothing’…..
π
Oops!! Dortmund won’t be too happy. Hummels out till Jan and Schemeizer out for 3 wks with injury. Crucial match v Bayern this weekend.
tsgh – I like Welbeck(industrious and intelligent). Lallana still got a ? on him
Emma- BVB fans are ‘brewing’ are Lahm was sent home after Fridays match when there is an important match this weekend- BVB 09 vs FC Munchen.
‘βTownsend reminds me of the post lady on my birthday, quite sexy but delivers nothingββ¦..’ lmfao
Crucial match vs Napoli on wednesday as well
https://twitter.com/rylandjames/status/403131410694680577
Oh dear emma, would be a shame if Napoli and Marseille could take advantage….
It would definitely be a shame rico π . All first choice back four injured(subotic, hummels, schmeizer, piszeck).
I was kidding emma, wouldn’t bother me if Dortmund lose both their final matches of the group. In fact I’d be elated…
I was puzzled by your first comment rico, then a smile came as I re-read it;-)
rico π
No probs I would be sad if Dortmund went out of the CL because they play good stuff and I like Klopp much more that Benetiz
I thought I would share this with you guys totally random but how much can we all talk about a pointless game last night and this is really funny:
Hereβs a good example of whatβs wrong with the world:
A store that sells new husbands has opened in Manchester , just off Deansgate where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:
You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 β These men Have Jobs
She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 2 β These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
βThatβs nice,β she thinks, βbut I want more.β
So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 β These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.
βWow,β she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 β These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Houseworkβ¦
βOh, mercy me!β she exclaims, βI can hardly stand it!β
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 β These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 6 β You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor.. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
PLEASE NOTE:
To avoid gender bias charges, the storeβs owner opened a New Wives store just across the street with the same rules.
The first floor has wives that love sex.
The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.
Sorry if any women take offense but I just had to share its to funny not to
oh and by the way I am not the kind of man that would have just visited the third floor of the wives shop and stay there and also if I was in the husbands shop then I would be on the fifth floor lol
Townsend being around may well be the thing that fires Theo up. Townsend does the bit that Theo finds difficult , running past players and taking them on with his speed, too often he ( Theo ) plays the ball inside and then runs for a return whereas Townsend just does a bit of push and run.
Emma it’s not just Gerrard though, I did notice Gibbs come short for a ball lay it to Jack , get a short return , play it inside for Jagielka and “whoosh ” there it went sailing across the pitch to a running Townsend and the German defence cut it out and we were back peddling again.
lol MO11
π Ah…
MO11, I’d rather face napoli in the final than Dortmund π
Rico, I agree Napoli on paper is an easier game but Drotmund are better for the competition and better watching
A little bit more for you from last nigt.
Why not loan gnarby to crystal palace,they are struggling n he’ll sure get enough playing time.
That joke is very funny Mo11..
No offence taken by me π
Townsend and Gnabry Potter, both want his place and that can only be good…
I suspect Townsend will keep his England place unless TW comes back firing on all cylinders. Actually, I think he will come back and make a difference..
multiply – Loan Gnabry to Crystal palace? I guess you don’t know Pulis is about to be appointed the manager. I would prefer he stays and learn from the first team. Probably loan him out next season to a team that plays the same philosophy if he can’t get playing time.
Potter – looks like we are stuffed up with talents in the u21 got to loan some out. The new keeper macy made some great saves. Like the boys tired in the latter stage of the match.
Multiple, good idea if Petrescu takes over but it looks more likely that Tony Poo-list will be taken over the Palace job…
I’d rather he stayed and played for us multiple…
Catch up later guys/gals…
Afternoon Rico and all.
Just got home after driving through a huge hail storm. Nice to get in and have a cuppa but I am dismayed that Potter hasn’t been well.
All the best mate and hope you feel better.
Thanks to all for the best wishes folks. Don’t worry you can’t get rid of me that easily. I will be at the Arsenal for Southampton but may have to give Marseilles a miss. We shall see.
It looks like we got Mark Clattenburg for the weekend. π
Emma- Εukasz Piszczek is back. The BV right-back played 33 minutes in friendly yesterday; His first game in 6 months so it will be too early for him to face Robben.
So many players from top teams have sustained injuries from the recent international break; luckily we haven’t this time round. Amazing that….
Valdes, Hummels, Khedira,schmelzer, Pinto, Coentrao, Van Der Vaart..
Nice one Potter, I’m also going to the Southampton game, 1st home game of the season for me. π
…
Yes emma I think dortmund will struggle,we care less if we beat marseile and both dortmund and napoli draw we are as good as qualified then we get lewadowski because I dont think he will want to play in the europa league.
That was meant to read, afternoon folks π
Good Evening Fine Folk
Good to hear that no injuries are around.
Is Diaby still in bed? Or is he trying to get out?
Still in bed Devil π
good.
at least there he will only get bed sores.
the problems occur when he tries getting out of bed.
how are you Rico?
it was a long hard day. but now I can relax a bit
Until he tries to get out and falls over devil π
I’m good thanks, had a lovely walk this afternoon with the woofa – very very cold though…
Early dinner for me, back shortly….
Well that didn’t take too long to munch….
Beans on toast again…. π
π Kev, fish and salad…
Tortilla and patatas bravas for me.
Potato omelette then Adam? π
With a bit of sauce of course π
That’s about it Rico.
Delightful I’m sure Adam π
Morning all.
Ginge, sorry i did not respond to your question in Campbell…i spent the best part of yesterday in cars and planes…..
Maybe getting him back in January and testing the kid is not a bad idea…..you just never know.
I reckon the talent is definitely there, and playing with top players often improves a guy immediately, so it could be worth a go.
It had a few frills Rico. Not quite as boring as you made it sound. π
That’s me for today, have a good evening Kev/Adam..
Catch up tomorrow no doubt…
Night all…
Me too. Night Rico.
Hi and bys Scott.. You have a good day…
I’m sure Adam, was pulling your leg π
Gone now..
Night guys.
Are there any links to Cristiano Ronaldo from our interest in any english newspaper?
Well done the guys in the 1st Test. Particularly Stuart Broad who has apparently been getting some fearful stick in the media.
Morning Adam. Have you been up all night? π
Not that I have seen JM.
The Aussies are daft to rile Broad, that brings out the best in him…..
Morning Rico. No. I watched some last night then caught the last few overs this morning.
I thought about staying up last night, or getting up early this morning but during the night the power went off in the awful weather so I gave up on the idea.
I’m off now, have a bit of a hectic day so catch up later…
New Post will be up around 9.30..
I was surprised both that we did so well and that Carberry got the openers call. I haven’t seen that much of him but I wonder how deep his technique is. He looks good slashing balls outside the off stump through the covers though. He must have more about his game than I have seen.
Draw or even win this first test and that will be a solid start to the series.
Hi All, Sorry i am abit late in this conversation, All the way from South Africa (we actually won Spain-Can you believe that?). Any way, who of you guys think Townsend is better than Theo, absolutely no way, he is a one horse pony that does not look up, even THS supporters will tell you this. If England is depending on him, then i have no hope for them in Brazil, as even the defenders in PL have worked him out already, i.e. (run fast down wing,cut inside, try and shoot etc. etc.).
Morning all,
Some bad news as always; it appears JW is injured AGAIN.. π
Rico, as I mentioned a few weeks back, Arsenal could facing Napoli behind closed doors in Champions League.
UEFA are being ‘firm’ for once…