Morning all.
So just one more fixture to go tomorrow night and then our players return to London and won’t we all be glad to know they are in one piece.
Denmark v Malta – Nicklas Bendtner.
Denmark need to ensure they win this one if they are to qualify, so Bendtner will no doubt play the full match which is good for us as he needs playing time.
Sweden v Germany – Per Mertesacker & Mesut Ozil.
Germany have already secured their place in the World Cup so fingers crossed, neither will play the entire match, if at all.
France v Finland – Laurent Koscielny & Olivier Giroud.
France have secured second place and with Spain already way ahead on goal difference, they need to get a huge victory and hope that Spain lose if they are to get top spot. Giroud is certain to play but the fitness of Koscielny could be in doubt.
England v Poland – Jack Wilshere & Kieran Gibbs.
England need a win in order to top their group. Jack came off of the bench for the last match but Kieran didn’t make an appearance. , Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski were both unused substitutes for Poland who can’t qualify regardless of the result.
Belgium v Wales – Aaron Ramsey & Thomas Vermaelen.
Belgium have already qualified but if Thomas Vermaelen plays it’s not all bad as he’s another who needs playing time. Wales can’t qualify and it would be really good news if Chris Coleman gives Aaron Ramsey the night off.
England U-21 V Lithuania U-21’s – Carl Jenkinson.
Carl Jenkinson played the entire 90 minutes on Thursday night and at left-back would you believe. This match is tonight and no doubt our man will play the whole game again.
Spain v Finland – Nacho Monreal.
Our left-back played 45 minutes in the last match, he may very well again tomorrow night and he’s another who playing time will do little harm.
So there you have it, I’ll be glad when the matches are done and dusted and Arsenal can back to the domestic challenge ahead.
Finally, it’s the last day you can vote for Arsene Wenger as he’s been shortlisted for The Guardian’s inaugural Public Language Champion award.
The award seeks to celebrate individuals who have made exceptional use of an additional language, or who have championed the importance of learning one.
Wenger, who speaks French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, is nominated alongside the sailor Ellen MacArthur, actor Larry Lamb, comedian Eddie Izzard and the BBC patron Zeinab Badawi.
So get your votes in by clicking HERE.
That’s it for another day……
morning rico,yes,nice post,let us all keep our fingers crossed for our players to come back healthy, I thought bendtner is suspended? I have faith our trophy drought will end soon.
I read elsewhere that Bendtner was banned for taking his shirt off after his second goal! Surely not?
Can anyone understand the reasoning for a player to take his shirt off knowing its a mandatory booking and they are open to being sent-off for a further booking? They are paid a large amount of money to perform and they risk not completing the current game and missing others further down the line. If we put our working hours at risk for something foolish, wouldn’t we be in trouble at work?
Yep … Bendtner is suspended … No playing time for him !
Morning Tim/AndrewH – I hadn’t read that about NB. Oh well, guess he’ll miss out then.
Andrew – no, I don’t get it at all, unless a player doesn’t want to play and does it on purpose…
Morning Rico, yes there were two things that struck my mind on hearing it. Like you say, it was a calculated action or …..he is just so stupid knowing one more booking would be a suspension! But after two good headers against one of the great goalies, would he not want game time against Malta to score some more? He’s just back from a 6 month suspension.
I’d sure want to be playing Andrew, and to be fair, he needs to be showing how good he can be if he wants a bumper deal in jan from a club better than Crystal Palace.
I just don’t get NB sometimes…
If you ever fancy writing a post for HH, please let me know, always looking for guest writers as it’s good to get the views of different fans..
Bendtner is in a strange place it seems. People always say that fatherhood changes them and I think I read a similar spiel from him recently.
I forget he is a father Adam, you’d have thought he’d grown up a bit really. Don’t mean the taking off of his shirt but all the other stuff..
Rico. Yes, apparently he had a child comparatively recently. I suspect that he is still a dork at heart though.
NB said after the match that he never knew he was gonna be suspended and he feels bitter
Shortly before he and the mother split up wasn’t it Adam. A Royal lady I believe….
I think you are right, a dork at heart…
Robert Lewandowski has announced his ambition to play Premier League football, and again insisted he has no agreement with Bayern Munich.
The Borussia Dortmund striker has become one of European football’s leading marksmen, and scored 24 goals for Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Bundesliga last season.
The 25-year-old has reportedly attracted interest in the past from English top-flight sides Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Lewandowski even spoke with retired United manager Alex Ferguson, although he conceded that a transfer was never discussed.
It appeared as though those overtures would be overlooked in favour of a move to German champions Bayern Munich, but Dortmund successfully fended off a move during the transfer window.
Rumours have circulated that Lewandowski was set to sign a pre-contract deal with Bayern in January, with his current contract set to expire in at the end of the season.
But he insisted his future has yet to be decided, and has set his sights on plying his trade in England in the future.
He told The Telegraph: “I will be able to sign a contract (with any club) in January, but I have never said that I will sign a contract with Bayern.
“It was a misunderstanding. It is true I had an opportunity to speak with Sir Alex Ferguson (last year), but we didn’t mention the transfer.
“One day I would like to play in the Premier League. It would be a great experience.”
The Poland international also confirmed he could have moved to England three years ago, when Blackburn Rovers made an approach to his former club Lech Poznan.
He added: “There was a proposal from Blackburn. I even spoke with the former manager (Sam Allardyce).
“In the end, I decided that Dortmund gave me a better chance of development as a footballer.”
Lewandowski will play at Wembley on Tuesday as Poland face England, with the hosts looking for a win that will secure their spot at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
I hope he come to Arsenal, get it done AW.
Good morning Peeps,
A well written post Rico…
France Tv and L’Equipe are reporting that Kosser could miss up to 5 weeks … not very good news considering we will be facing Lew, Hoffman, Mkhitaryan (spelling), M Reus, Błas’ski, Pierrre- Emerick in a matter of days with just 2 recognised CB’s and that is if the fans count TV as a CB now.lol
Of coursec we have Sagna to cover if needed with Bellerin, Nico, Flamini and Hayden as defensive cover…
Frimpong plays for Ghana tomorrow… it seems he is back to fitness to bolster the CoC squad if he remains injury free.
Hi Dna, Hope you are well? You do not expect Lew to say he has breached all regulations by signing to a rival before January? lol
Gdna, that’s a surprise. Hope AW is reading, in fact I hope he hot foots it to Wembley tomorrow night and has a chat..
I do try hard with my spelling and grammar Ts.
Not like me … 😛
Hope you are well?
Hope that Kos story is wrong and just the French media trying to stir trouble. Wouldn’t have thought a thigh strain would keep him out that long. Diaby yes but not Kos..
My bad, Kosser trained today… photos on twitter.
That is good news… I just hope he is fully fit though knowing Deschamp and Aw’s love/hate relationship…
😀 Diaby yes not Kos…
Abu is just misunderstood.lol
You got to love the FA and their hypocrisy…
20k polish tickets?lol
I didn’t want to say anything Ts 😉
I’m well thanks as I hope you are..
Not bad at all thanks… just a tad busy with work and the crap that comes with it…
I am trying to find a different job in a different sector too… I have become morally uncomfortable with my job for a while now. 😉
It’s all lawful btw if anyone is wondering.lol
Pardew says he is going to sign more English players…lol
Good luck with that then..
I read that about Newcastle, how things change eh. Same could be said about us really, once so French but very different these days..
Cheers, I need it. 😉
English clubs have to learn to sell to each other imho…
Italian/German clubs sell to each often…
The big 2 in Spain buy all the other talents; whilst in the EPL, Henderson goes for £15M or was it £22M? lol
I hope the Benzema rumours are untrue especially at £20M…
I think all English clubs would sell to other English ones, as long as the price is right. ie, inflated as we have seen so many times…
Ts, I’m good bro. I would fancy the Benzema signing, AW could get the best out of him. There is no way at 25 yrs old player like Benzema is finished. Benzema have a better upside to Rooney.
Benzema is better than all the strikers at arsenal, so he would b a massive upgrade on the 1st 11.
Not for me Gdna, Rooney all the way, he’s used to the PL..
Each to their own though…
Off for a while now, catch up later..
Hi Dna, I don’t mind Benzema, but I prefer OG12 and as of now their partnership is worse than Trezeguet and TH14 a decade before…
I think,if AW went for Benzema it will mean OG12 will have to go… but imo, OG12 is more suited to this league than Benzema may be…
Afternoon All…
Prior to the signing of Mesut Ozil, I wanted Arenal/Wenger to go as far as £50 million to secure the transfer of Luis Suarez…
I felt at the time that the club/players/staff/fans, needed a signing of that magnitude, to kick-start the clubs climb back into serious contention for honours, and all that jazz…
Of course we didn’t get Suarez, but Ozil’s arrival archived that mindset change, and we are reaping the benefits of all that…
That leaves Suarez in limbo…
He’ll never join Arsenal, but he won’t remain at Liverpool either…
This January Suarez could well move…
He won’t be euro cup-tied, and £50 million should convince the Scousers to let him leave…
Hi Kev, he’d do, if we can’t get Rooney 😉
Offski now….
Real Madrid have to favourites for Suarez’s signature…
But even a club like Real, who run their financial affairs like a banana republic, need to raise funds…
Therefore a January bid from Arsenal, for Karim Benzema, looks a distinct possibility…
And @ £20 million (or less), that, to me, seems vgd business…
Hi kev, will we shell out £90M within a year? I doubt it but you never know…
I read Ryo played as a no.9 recently for the reserves/u-21’s another conversion in action…lol
Vieira @ AC Milan…
Petit @ Monaco…
Henry @ Juventus…
Pires@ Marseilles…
Benzema @ Real Madrid…
There’s a definate pattern, that is an underachieving French international, who then comes under the guidance of Wenger, and who then realises his potential…
For our benefit…
Well, that’s my theory… 😉
Ginge, I wouldn’t play Benzema and Giroud all the time.
One up front seems to be the way to go…
Thinking about it, Giroud could do a job ‘in the hole’ in certain games…
Benzema out wide in others. Players have to adapt and accept that they won’t play every game…
Ryo thru the middle?!!!
Worth a try. Maybe Wengef always saw him playing that role, it has just been a case, perhaps, of waiting for him to grow stronger?
Benzema….mmmmmmm. Not sure myself.
He’s been like a pair of slightly soiled Y Front since playing at Unreal! He was not that good before he left France, imo. Definitely not worth a king ‘s ransome! If £20m is cheap then buy him asap but I think it would be throwing good money down the toilet. No not for me. There must be better options.
I’m putting my faith on Diaby’s brother, Sanogo. Free, that’s the Arsenal way! Fit. Well maybe occasionally!
Rico good players adapt to any league or conditions they are asked to play in. Ozil and SC19 perfect example, so the used to PL theory doesn’t make any sense to me. Imo
Interesting that AW never went back for Trezeguet even though AW converted him to be a striker at AS Monaco and the player was keen to join us on numerous occasions;I guess it was because of TH14… or his high wages or just that Trezeguet could only play up front…
Also Wiltord and TH14 never worked causing AW to play SW as a winger most times; another reason Wiltord refused to renew his contract and walked away after 4 years…
I doubt AW will make the same ‘mistake’ again…
Reading between the lines of what AW said last week on his Eurosports blog when discussing the partnership between OG12 and KB, he said it was not working now but they both have to find a way to make it work…
He followed it up by saying one has to be the provider in the partnership…
Lastly, I find it interesting that when RM bought Benzema, AW said he did not know Benzema was for sale…; was AW really interested?
I also heard that RM tried to sell Benzema to us when we were discussing Ozil’s deal and either AW or both parties decided against…
Wavy, Kev, Milan will sell El Shawaaray (spelling) or Balo. lol
Dna, Kanu and DB10 never worked together even though they were considered the best/skilful players at the club by most players then…
Klinsman and Rudi Voller never worked either…
Hasselbank and Kluivert never work even though Kluivert could play behind Jimmy…
Raul and Owen ner worked too..albeit one was a sicknote…
Then there is Judas and Huntelaar..
There are numerous examples that on paper should have worked but never worked… maybe it could be argued they never played together at club level to make it work..
Cole/Yorke worked but their beef was well documented…; in the end Rednose had to drop one and bring in Van Nisterooy
For a partnership to work one has to agree to be in the background imho from observation…
Gotta say, that I’m sure I recall Benzema being quite successful in France, prior to his move to Spain…
Not sure about his goal scoring record in Spain, but I think he does ok..
Yeah Wavy, buying these guys is always a risk, but then if he was Harry Champion in Spain, we wouldn’t have a chance of getting him…
I know that he doesn’t set the world alight for France, but that doesn’t mean thag he wouldn’t do the biz for us..
Anyway, he’ll probably end up at Chelsea or Man City…
Kev, I agree with your 3:04 btw… I just think AW will only consider such a move if there is/can be a working relationship between KB and OG12…
For that fee which I am certain the folks in-charge of the bottomless hole down at RM will expect at least £35M I will try Benteke or Jackson Martinez…
Akpom could still be a revelation imho if given a chance too as BVB/Klopp is doing with Hoffman as potential replacement for Lew…
I will place OG12 and TW14 as one of the best partnerships in EPL history recently;They were involved in nearly 45 goals last season… albeit just one season but if nurtured it would be as good as Beardsley and Andy Cole or Les and Shearer…
Ts, Benzema can play on the right wing, he has done it in the past.
Ginge, I wouldn’t pay £35 million for Benzema…
I did read that there has been a breakdown in the relationship between player and manager, that’s where the idea of a reduced fee, that’s if you call such an amount ‘reduced’, came from…
Also, Arsenal have the means to offer the whole fee, or half of it, up front…
Madrid need to raise funds if they’re to bid for Suarez.
Gallas training with Man United? 😀 😀
rooney all the way,but will united sell to us?
Swahili, you can add that to your list as well rico !!!
Who Micko? 😉
Evening folks….
All very quiet here so off to find something to write for tomorrow and catch the soaps…
Night all…
What’s not to like !
tsgh, Montenegro is a country with a population the size of Bristol, Poland on the other hand is slightly larger, if they fancy a few extra tickets for tomorrow night’s game I say what the heck let ’em have them.
Nite all.
Morning all…
TV suggests he will think about his situation in January if he’s not getting playing time and may move on…
Morning Rico,
That is always my worry when we fans call for very good players to be backups…
Morning all….God I hate internationalzzzzzzzzz!
Morning Ts, all part of the game, he didn’t exactly help himself when he got his chance last season..
Morning Lee, me too, so so boring…..
Hi ts,
Surely if TV’s form from 2011 had returned he would be first team anyway. To me that’s just how competition for places goes.
He will surely get his chance this season, all depends on TV if he’ll take it.
Also, it’s not like he can just walk. He’s contracted for longer than that and we’ll be short at the back so I doubt wenger would sell anyway.
Hi Bradster..
New post up now..
Hi Rico and Lee too.