Back from Poland. Nothing that isn’t pretzel-related to report.
Add comment September 9th, 2009
So, I’m back from Poland and it seems not very much has happened. I feel for those who’ve attempted to blog in my absence – had I been online I would have been talking entirely about the quite alarming number and array of pretzels Krakow has to offer rather than anything football-related.
For vehement club fans, International lulls are deathly boring. There’s been no domestic action since Transfer Deadline Day, meaning Burnley fans are still sat on the edge of their seats, waiting for the moment Dave “The Nuge†Nugent finally steps onto the hallowed turf of, well, Turf Moor.
There’s no such unbounded excitement for Arsenal fans, who have only the return to the fold of Philippe Senderos to look forward to. Senderos is set to play a major part this season due to the news that Johan Djourou will miss six months with a knee injury. I find it almost impossible to believe that Arsene knew that Djourou would be unavailable and still neglected to sign a centre-back. Therefore, I can only conclude that in a bid to keep competition for places to a minimum, Djourou disguised the severity of his injury by hiding his grimaces and indulging in a number of knee-related activities in the days before deadline day – skiing, hopscotch, pretending to be a dwarf by walking around with his shoes on his knees etc.
How frustrated Arsene must have been when he realised it was all a ruse and that Djourou was in fact undeniably and violently broken.
Suffice to say, there’ve been some impressive moments from Arsenal players in this interlull, with Aaron Ramsey and Nicklas Bendtner both netting excellent goals. Ramsey’s Wales take on Andrey Arshavin’s Russia this evening (though there is some doubt over the little magician’s fitness), whilst Bendtner has been talking up the possibility of scoring twenty goals this season.
Tonight I’ll be at Wembley to see England face Croatia. If you want to spot me, I’ll be the one who isn’t booing Eduardo.
Obviously the Crozilian is in for a hell of a reception, what with him being Lucifer incarnate and all that, but I can’t be the only one hoping that he a) dives b) wins a penalty and c) scores. If the masses have decided he is to be a villain, let him be a footballing supervillain to match the likes of The Green Goblin, The Joker, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
What else happened while I was away… ah, the Chelsea transfer ban. I wouldn’t get too over-excited, as I’m sure their suspension from transfer activity will be halved upon appeal. Intriguingly my Chelsea-supporting (yet somehow not-yet-estranged) brother believes the embargo could prove beneficial: it may offer them the stability they’ve lacked in recent seasons.
Once all our players are back from International duty (riddled with ligament damage, hamstring strains and sexually transmitted infections), we can begin to look forward in anticipation of Saturday’s gigantic game at the City of Manchester Stadium. And we’re playing in it. Would you believe it.
It’s good to be back. Till tomorrow, Gunnerfolk.
