Despite Fulham’s denial that the Australian had handed in a transfer request people allegedly close to MS said he did indeed email in a request. Mark Hughes telling a porkie? I don’t believe it.
Regardless, it seems he has returned home early from international duty to have a showdown with Hughes which is nowhere near as exciting as it could be as I’m sure there are no pistols involved.
There are, of course, comparisons to be drawn with the Cesc non-transfer in that you have a player who wants to leave, a club that wants to buy and a manager who is refusing to be budged. But that is where the comparisons end. Had Cesc handed in a transfer request, and Barcelona made a realistic offer there is no doubt that he would now be a Barcelona player. If Schwarzer has indeed put in a request and we have made a realistic offer I can see no way how Fulham can think that keeping him would be of any benefit to the club. It is also different because Schwarzer is at the end of his career and this his last realistic chance of playing at a level Fulham are a millennium away from reaching.
Whatever happens it is doubtful that it will be resolved before the trip to Liverpool, and even if it is I cannot see him being thrown in with no time to get to know the defence.
Then again…
Anyways, let’s get on to the pointless international round-up which goes like this:
Cesc managed 45 minutes which to me, depending on travel, proves that he is more than fit to give at least equal that on Sunday.
Carlos Vela played 58 minutes but we know from past experience that a match in Mexico means that Carlos can’t play for another four months.
Thomas Vermaelen played a ridiculous 90 minutes though I’m trying to look at this as being
crucial to his fitness levels ahead of Sunday rather than knackering him needlessly.
By all reports, the 78 minutes in which Nasri was on the pitch for France were nothing short of inspirational. I really feel he is going to be our star player this year, but I am also terrified that we are angering the injury gods by daring to think such a thing.
TR7 got 61 minutes but I’ve no idea how he got on. He is still in one piece so that’s always a bonus.
Fabianski got a lot of stick last night for Poland’s 3-0 defeat, most of it unfair as he had been taken off at half-time and had only conceded one of the goals.
Arshavin managed 79 minutes for Russia and I really hope he’s fit as well know how much he loves to play at Anfield.
Chamakh got on the score sheet for Morocco but I’ve no idea how many minutes he played and I couldn’t be bothered finding out.
Eboue, who played a day earlier than everyone else, played the full 90 minutes, but as he is the Energizer bunny we should have no worries about him for Sunday.
Finally, Theo, who was by far the best player in an England shirt in the first half was strangely (but thankfully) taken off at half-time. Gibbs came on at half-time and was simply magnificent. Wilshere got eight minutes at the end of the match which I thought was pretty pointless until I found out he had been in hospital the night before with stomach pains and was under doctors orders not to play any more than 10 minutes. At least, that’s what they are saying.
So far everyone seems to have made it through in one piece, although you never can tell what catastrophes await them all on their journey’s back. That being said, Wenger was talking about the injuries ahead of the weekend’s trip to Anfield and it seems that while Denilson and Diaby will face fitness tests prior to the match, Djourou has shown just why he cannot possibly be relied on for a full season by being out with a hamstring problem. To be fair to him hamstring problems are to be expected after such a long time out, but that scuppers the plans many of us had to have him stand in for Song who had been training all week but seems almost certain to miss the match with a calf strain.
Arshavin will be available, and Cesc and VP may be too. As I said above, if Cesc is fit for his country he is fit for his club and I sense some midngames from Arsene, trying to get Liverpool lulled in to a false sense of security by making them think we have no midfield to speak of.
There was talk around the interweb that our midfield injuries showed that our squad was too light in midfield (as well as at the back) but that is just bollocks. No club could withstand the loss of four players from midfield without looking threadbare.
Bloody hell, the season hasn’t even started and already I’m having to talk about how we are being decimated through injuries and defend the depth of our squad because of the depth of our injuries. It is simply not feasible to have double the amount of players as every one else because we suffer double the amount of injuries, and with the new 25-squad limits, we wouldn’t be allowed to do that even if it was.
What the hell is the problem Arsenal? How long is it going to take to sort out? Are we just overly-cautious or do we actually not know how to prevent these injuries? Questions need answered as we can’t possible endure another season in which injuries surpass those of the year just past. If that happens we will finish the season playing the entire U18 squad.
You think I’m joking?
Blah.
Finally, I’m not sure if you’ve seen this, and while I’m loathed to give them free advertising, it does feature two of our boys – Chamakh and Arshavin. enjoy:
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