Captain Verm, Return of the King and More on van Persie

Image via Arseblog News

With the first pre-season fixture done and dusted, eyes are firmly fixed on Arsenal’s match against a familiar foe, Manchester City, in the magnificent Beijing Bird’s Nest Stadium, a ground that has overawed Thomas Vermaelen. There has been no love lost between both sides in recent seasons, as it has been fabled that Arsene Wenger’s Army has become a feeder club to their oil-rich counterparts.

A lot has been going on at the club recently, as the team confirmed its squad numbers for the forthcoming season. Wojciech Szczesny has taken the jersey that was worn by legends like David Seaman and Mad Jens Lehmann, Olivier Giroud took the jersey vacated by Thierry Henry in his second coming while Francis Coquelin took the No. 22 jersey.

However, Lukas Podolski appears to be waiting patiently for Robin van Persie’s No. 10 jersey as he probably believes that his preferred option could be freed up by the Flying Dutchman’s exit.

Van Persie has dominated the headlines all summer long for more reasons than one. His current situation at the club has been made public, from his statement revealing that he wasn’t going to renew his contract to the way Arsenal has handled the transfer saga so far. Arsene Wenger has reiterated his desire to keep him times without number, and ESPN Star reports that he has told Manchester United and Manchester City to fuck off, as he doesn’t intend to strengthen his rivals.

With Arsenal not prepared to sell van Persie to their Premier League rivals, Juventus would be in pole position to secure his signature. The Italian giants have a great prestige but they made an initial meager £8m bid that was turned down by Arsenal.

The Telegraph reported that Juventus are preparing a second bid for Robin van Persie which, significantly, will be close to the £20 million threshold set by Arsenal. They are also prepared to make Van Persie the highest paid player in their history, with wages of around £190,000 per-week on a potential five year deal.

With the summer is well ahead of us, van Persie is certainly not short of options but Arsenal will only let their prized asset go when a club brings an offer worthy of a sale. Arsenal wants to keep van Persie because he’s the club’s best player, a feared and lethal predator in the opposition area and he’s capable of leading the club to glory.

Laurent Koscielny recently signed a new deal, much to the delight of the Arsenal faithful but he has also urged van Persie to remain at the club,

“Giroud and Robin van Persie can play together. Van Persie is one of the greatest strikers in the world. We all want him to stay and help Arsenal win a trophy.”

“I trust Arsene Wenger and I had to continue with him. Giroud wanted to have information [about Arsenal]. I did my job and told him that Arsenal was a club where there was everything he needed to improve.

Like Koscielny, I and many Gooners out there have high hopes for Olivier Giroud and I must express my disappointment in not seeing him as part of the squad involved in the Asian tour. Arsenal has a final preseason fixture against Lukas Podolski’s former employers, FC Cologne, before the Premier League curtain raiser against Sunderland so we’ll get a chance to see Giroud strut his stuff.

In other Arsenal related news, Thomas Vermaelen has expressed his delight in seeing his defensive partner, Laurent Koscielny, sign a new long term contract.

“I heard the news that Laurent extended his contract and I’m really happy. From the start when he came to Arsenal he has shown he is a great player and he is developing really well. I think he has done everything for the Club already and I hope he will stay a few more years.”

Vermaelen also spoke about his pride in leading the team currently basking the Asian sun,

“First of all I want to say that I am only captain for now. Last year I was vice-captain for Arsenal and I was really proud to be in that role for such a big club.

“I dreamed to play for this club and to play an important role as a vice-captain. It makes me really happy to help the players and help the team go forward and win trophies this year.”

The Verm is a dedicated, vocal, coordinated, influential and composed defender that can lead the line for years to come. He arrived in the shores of England after a good spell at Ajax Amsterdam. It was fabled that Vermaelen was watched over 49 times by Arsenal’s scouts to confirm that he was the man for Arsenal’s defense and he has proved that because he’s presently regarded as Arsenal’s star defender and he’s a regular starter whenever he’s fit.

He scored a header in his Arsenal debut against Everton in Goodison Park and his stellar performances didn’t go unnoticed as he was awarded a place in the 2009 PFA Team of the Year. A lot was expected of the Belgian defender in his second season at the club but an Achilles tendon injury he sustained in international duty kept him out of action for the best part of seven months. Vermaelen has also been plagued by injuries in his third season with the club.

Its high time he gets the band

Vermaelen has made 91 appearances for Arsenal thus far and he has 14 goals to show for it. In the poll created below, a large percentage of the Arsenal faithful want the Verm to be the first player to walk out on the pitch on the 18th of August against Sunderland.

I’m one of them. -__-

I’m looking forward to seeing the newly improved Arsenal backline under the tutelage of Steve Bould. Vermaelen’s quality is unrivaled and Koscielny was a massively improved player last season. I can only hope that the left fullbacks step their game up because Bacary Sagna is the football S.I. unit for consistency.

A collective defense line with Wojciech Szczesny improving behind them will make Arsenal’s rearguard impregnable. In 2006, Arsene Wenger managed a team that kept 10 clean sheets in a row in Europe’s elite competition, but conceding 49 league goals last season was an aberration.

Finally, King Thierry Henry has stated that he won’t rule out a second comeback to Arsenal in the MLS  break,

‘I would like to go back to England with Arsenal for sure. I wasn’t planning to go back to play last season. I was there to train and they asked me if I wanted to play. Who knows what might happen in the future?

‘I’ve not yet spoken to Arsene about it so I don’t know what capacity I could go back in.’

‘Coaching does interest me but I don’t know what my talent is going to be after I have finished my career. But I will go back to Arsenal.’

It would be great having a legend like Thierry Henry in Arsenal’s backroom staff. C’mon, doesn’t the idea of Henry teaching Podolski how to place a shot with perfection bring butterflies to your tummy?

It was nice staying up late to watch Thierry Henry and his fellow MLS All Stars beat the free-spending Chelsea (3-2).

Chris Wondowlowski opened the scoring for the hosts but it was cancelled out by a John Terry header from a Frank Lampback of Notre Dame corner kick. Chelsea’s Quasimodo turned from provider to scorer when he latched on to a cross to slot the ball home from less than two yards out.

The MLS All Stars levelled the contest when Chris Pontius placed his effort past Ross Turnbull after receiving a Dwayne De Rosario cutback. Eddie Johnson won the game through a sucker punch in the 90th minute when he fired a shot that ricocheted off David Luiz’ leg, sending the keeper the wrong way.

My most treasured moment of the game was watching Henry (jokingly) trying to drag David Beckham away when the MLS All Stars had a free kick on the edge of Chelsea’s area. After a brief chat brightened up with a few smiles, Henry allowed Becks to take the free kick. However, Beckham’s free kick didn’t cause any collateral damage.

A preview of the Manchester City game will come in tomorrow’s post.

Sayonara

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Grumpy Ol’ Thomas Vermaelen and Lukas Podolski Disillusioned at FC Cologne

A tale of missed penalties...

When Arsenal played AS Roma in the 2008/09 Champions League Knockout Phase, the game had to go to the gruelling drama of a penalty shoutout with the Gunners coming out on top. Kolo Toure was among the spot kick takers that night but the way he positioned himself to take his kick and raced to the ball like a raging bull sent chills down my spine but it was enough to beat Doni in goal.

Three years later in Libreville, Kolo Toure was faced with an uphill task of scoring a penalty for his nation in sudden death but his intimidating penalty style didn’t put the goalie off. His blushes were spared when Rainford Kalaba killed a bird in the sky with his effort.

Up stepped Gervinho, the ninth penalty taker for the Elephants which painted the picture vividly that Le Forehead wasn’t ready or confident enough to be among the spot kick takers. With limited options available by virtue of the players that had taken spot kicks, Gervinho walked sluggishly to the 18-yard box, sent the keeper the wrong way but broke Ivorian hearts with a poor penalty kick.

The rest they say is history…

Chipolopolo

In a run to the final with nine goals scored and none conceded, it was fair to say that Ivory Coast deserved to win the 2012 African Cup of Nations…just like the way Arsenal deserved to win the 2011 Carling Cup.

While some lovebirds would spend Tuesday night in different locations around the world, I and a certain faction of individuals would be drinking some Heineken, which turns out to be the official beer of the UEFA Champions League that has come to stay after a two month wait.

Arsenal would visit San Siro on Wednesday to take on AC Milan but Arsene Wenger would be without the services of Per Mertesacker that suffered a somewhat mysterious ankle injury last Saturday. While the likes of Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs are on their way to full fitness, Mertesacker has joined the injury list to have fun with the likes of Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere in Arsenal’s physio room.

However, there’s a defender at Arsenal that’s getting a bit grumpy following a string of performances in a different position. Thomas Vermaelen won a place in the PFA 2009 Team of the Year following his stellar performances in the heart of Arsenal’s defence but injuries have made the boss to deploy him as a make-shift left back.

According to Sky Sports, Thomas Vermaelen has expressed his frustration with playing at left-back as he does not feel he can perform to the best of his ability:

“I am fed up playing at left-back, I don’t think I am good there. I want to achieve my highest level and I can’t do that on the left.”

“I play there to help the team but it gives me no satisfaction as I can’t reach my best standard. I do my job but seldom feel content after matches. If the team wins I am happy, but it remains frustrating.”

His grumpiness didn’t stop there as he further expressed his disappointment in losing the Belgian captain’s armband to Vincent Kompany. This is certainly not the time to point any finger at Vermaelen but I feel that it’s highly unnecessary going to the media Vultures to put some pressure on his manager.

Thomas Vermaelen is undoubtedly Arsenal’s best center back but he has to remember that Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have done very well in the heart of Arsenal’s defence. While Andre Santos and Kieran Gibbs got injured for a considerable chunk of the season, was Vermaelen expecting his manager to go select Ignasi Miquel when he was still fit?

Mertesacker will be out for some time so I guess he’ll get his wish. Arsene Wenger has the final say though.

Still sticking with the League of Extraordinary Grumpy Men, Arsenal’s transfer target Lukas Podolski was also expressed his disillusionment with life at FC Cologne. Podolski said that he rejoined the club from FC Bayern because of the promises made by the club to challenge for a top eight place in the Bundesliga.

Since his arrival in 2009, FC Cologne has been languishing in the mid-table with 12th, 13th and a 10th placed finish in the past three seasons. With 21 games played in the Bundesliga this season, FC Cologne is presently in 12th place and this certainly isn’t the “top eight” challenge Podolski had in mind.

However, Podolski reiterated that he has not yet made a decision on his future and will only do so in the summer. He’ll definitely be a great addition to Arsenal and here are five reasons why.

I wonder why Vermaelen and Podolski decided to be so grumpy. Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Sayonara.

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Thomas Vermaelen: A quick focus on the Verminator and his top 10 football attributes

The Verminator

Born on the 14th of November 1985 in the Belgian city of Kapellen, Thomas Vermaelen began his career in the 2000/01 season in Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen but he made a move to neighboring Holland to continue his education at Ajax Amsterdam.

It took him over four years to find his feet in Amsterdam but a loan move to RKC Waalwijk in the 2004/05 campaign did wonders to his confidence and he returned to Ajax to stake his claim for a first team place and never looked back. After notching up 98 league appearances for de Godenzonen, Arsenal acquired his services for £9.5m and he set the Premier League alight in his debut season, making 33 appearances, scoring an impressive eight goals in the process.

Thomas Vermaelen arrived in the shores of England after a good spell at Ajax Amsterdam. It was fabled that Vermaelen was watched over 49 times by Arsenal’s scouts to confirm that he was the man for Arsenal’s defense and he has proved that because he’s presently regarded as Arsenal’s star defender and he’s a regular starter whenever he’s fit.

He scored a header in his Arsenal debut against Everton in Goodison Park and his stellar performances didn’t go unnoticed as he was awarded a place in the 2009 PFA Team of the Year. A lot was expected of the Belgian defender in his second season at the club but an Achilles tendon injury he sustained in international duty kept him out of action for the best part of seven months. Vermaelen has also been plagued by injuries in his third season with the club.

Vermaelen has currently made 61 appearances for Arsenal (44 league apps) and he has scored 10 goals for the club with nine of them registered in the Premier League. On the international scene, he has amassed 33 caps for his nation and he scored his only Belgian goal in a 3-0 victory against Hungary in a friendly in 14th November 2009, a befitting birthday gift he gave himself.

As a footballer, Vermaelen is blessed with many talents and I’ll like to give my take on his top 10:

Bravery

Vermaelen is a defender that can die for the cause and play every game as if its his last.

He’s never afraid to go in for that challenge without being to mindful about the repercussions. This was evidenced in the Champions League playoff tie against Udinese that resulted in an ankle injury.

Tackling

Vermaelen is a defender that’s never afraid to hit the turf with the aim of making a tackle. It’s that no-nonsense nature that has helped Arsenal’s defense in recent times. His ability to read the game is simply amazing and he has a high tackling ratio in the Premier League.

Coordination

Vermaelen has a very cool head when faced with adversity and he orchestrates the Arsenal defense like a conductor of a music band. He’s also very vocal and he directs his fellow defenders on the pitch from time to time.

Influence

In the latter years of his Ajax days, Vermaelen wore the captain’s armband for the club and led the team with valor. His leadership in Arsenal’s back line has propelled him to the role of vice captain behind Robin van Persie.

Marking

Vermaelen is so good at marking that opposition forwards search for his presence long after the game is over. When he’s really in the mood, he can frustrate any striker Arsenal is coming up against.

Attacking threat

Vermaelen scored 8 goals in his first season at Arsenal and most of them were things of beauty. He broke his duck on his debut with a solid header against Everton but he also scored a peach of a goal against Wigan and another piledriver against Blackburn.

This season, he scored a well-taken goal against West Brom.

Aggression

Thomas Vermaelen is a defender that’s renowned for his aggressive style of play. Irrespective of who the striker is, the Verminator takes on all comers and is always looking to be dominant.

In a league that has physical strikers like Didier Drogba, Kenwyne Jones and Yakubu Aiyegbeni amongst others, aggression is a key attribute for Arsenal’s defense.

Technique

The Verminator is a defender that’s very comfortable with the ball at his feet. His close control is pretty impressive for a center back and he has a decent first touch.

Jumping

At 6′ 0″, Vermaelen is not the tallest of center backs but he knows how to leap higher than a frog because he jumps as if he has some springs hidden in his studs. In recent times, over the top balls was a constant problem for former defenders like William Gallas and Kolo Toure but Vermaelen has quelled that threat from the opposition.

Heading

Vermaelen is a constant threat for Arsenal from set pieces and he nodded in a couple of headers in his first season at the club with goals recorded from his head against Everton and Wigan. This season, Vermaelen used his head to salvage a draw for Arsenal after conceding an unfortunate own goal at the other end of the pitch

Summary

At the age of 26, Vermaelen is going to rule Arsenal’s defense for many more years to come and he’ll certainly be Arsenal’s captain if Robin van Persie decides to leave Arsenal for greener pastures in the near future that’s if the club’s trophy woes still continue.

Here’s to Thomas Vermaelen.

Arsenal’s own Verminator.

Sayonara.

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Thomas Vermaelen cleans up his mess

Arsene Wenger came up against a manager that had never managed a win against him in his Tottenham days and Arsenal’s starting lineup on looked good enough to win the game, on paper at least. The boss made two changes from the squad that was very impressive in midweek against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Johan Djourou deputized for Laurent Koscielny and the much talked about Andrey Arshavin replaced Gervinho.

The game against Fulham was a frustrating affair from start to finish but there were moments of quality from time to time. Fulham almost drew first blood when Bryan Ruiz made a fool out of Andre Santos before sending the ball into the danger area. Djourou provided adequate cover in the heart of the defense to execute an inch-perfect goal-saving tackle.

Alex Song teed up Robin van Persie and the Arsenal captain wasted no time before setting up Aaron Ramsey but Mark Schwarzer made a great save from the top drawer. Theo Walcott rolled back the years to make a jinking run that was reminiscent of the assist he gave Emmanuel Adebayor in March 2008 at Anfield. The winger ran a great length of the field only to pass the ball to Ramsey that fed the ball to the birds in the sky.

Andre Santos jousted forward and made a Samba-like Marseille Roulette but he lost the ball in the process. The full back charged forward to win the ball back but his final pass was disappointing because Schwarzer was there to mop up play. Moussa Dembele stung Wojciech Szczesny’s hands with a left-footed shot and Per Mertesacker had the last attack of the first half when he nodded Mikel Arteta’s free kick wide.

Arsenal was the brighter side at the start of the second half with Theo Walcott giving John Arne Riise a torrid time before drilling a cross that brought confusion between Phillippe Senderos and Mark Schwarzer but the Fulham backline dealt with the threat. Robin van Persie lit the Emirates alight when he received a pass from Arshavin, shimmied the center back before firing a goal-bound shot that beat Schwarzer hands down but Chris Baird was in the right place to clear the ball off the line.

Against the run of play, Fulham went ahead when Arteta lost the ball in the midfield and a cross-field ball was attacked by Riise but Thomas Vermaelen unfortunately lashed at the ball to beat Szczesny at his near post.

Ramsey was suspect for producing complacent moments while Arshavin’s performance on the field for 75 minutes was likened to the horror movie Saw VI so Wenger responded by bringing on Abou Diaby to replace Ramsey while Gervinho came on for Mertesacker.

In my opinion, bringing on Diaby was a very wrong move because of his lackadaisical attitude in his play especially in pivotal moments of a game and Arsenal was made to suffer the Diabytes Syndrome later on in the match. There was a point in time when Diaby was with the ball at the edge of the area with teammates to feed the ball to at both sides but the lanky Frenchman chose to dwell on the ball only to lose it later. Abou Diaby at his frustrating best.

Djourou made a goal-bound header but Schwarzer popped up with the goods again for Fulham. Van Persie had two half chances that didn’t threaten the Fulham goal. His free kick sailed effortlessly wide while his shot from Andre Santos’ cross was launched into orbit.

When it seemed as if it was going to be one of those days for Arsenal, Vermaelen was seen surging forward in a buildup play and it was really soothing to see him on the end of Theo Walcott’s cross to bring Arsenal back in the match.

If Arsenal had lost the match by a lone goal, my headline would have been “The Verminator becomes Arsenal’s terminator” but it’s heartwarming to know that he cleaned up the mess he made in the other end of the pitch.

Szczesny (6.5) was relatively untroubled but I felt that his concentration wasn’t fully in check when Vermaelen conceded the own goal because the ball wasn’t really fast.

Djourou (6.5) didn’t offer much in attack as you would expect from a center back playing on the flanks but he was solid defensively.

Andre Santos (7.5) worked tirelessly on the left wing to play as a full back as well as the left winger for Arsenal because Arshavin was missing in action.

Vermaelen (7.0) did the double in both goal posts.

Mertesacker (6.5) was steady at the back.

Song (7.5) covered a lot of distance on the pitch and did very well to help his teammates that were out of position most times.

Arteta (6.0) disappointed me a bit and compounded it by losing the ball that led to Fulham’s opener.

Ramsey (6.0) lacked the spark he was renowned for and missed a few chances for Arsenal.

Arshavin (5.0) put up another putrid performance and Gervinho’s 15-minute cameo was two times better than his 75-minute outing.

Walcott (8.0) was a constant thorn to Riise and showed good dribbling skills as well as the assist for Arsenal’s equalizer.

Van Persie (7.5) worked really hard for his team and was unlucky not to do what he has become renowned for.

Gervinho (7.5) ran at the Fulham defense was real drive and positive intent unlike the man he replaced that was more or less a peripheral figure for one hour 15 minutes.

Diaby (6.0) held on the ball too much when he was supposed to feed a teammate. In my opinion, I would have prepared to see Tomas Rosicky. Oh Arsene!

Chamakh (6.55) had no real attacking impact on the game but showed his work rate to win some balls in midfield.

Arsenal’s draw against Fulham has dented the impressive run that saw the Gunners win eight of their last nine games. It’s true that players are meant to rest in some games but Arsene Wenger of all people should know that you should never change a “winning team” especially when they are all fit.

The game against Fulham was of utmost importance to Arsenal because the club is fighting hard to break into the top four. I wouldn’t have had any trouble if Arshavin started in the Carling Spoon quarter final against Manchester City.

Gervinho, Walcott and van Persie had built up an amazing chemistry and van Persie has benefitted from the consistent services of these wingers. Arshavin came back to the fold and disrupted that mojo and it’s really sad to know how he has become the shadow of the attacking midfielder that took the world by storm years ago.

I hope he gets his act right soon enough because he’s not getting any younger.

Thomas thanks for cleaning up your mess. At least, Arsenal is still unbeaten.

Sayonara.

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A brief review on Arsenal’s ambassadors on international duty this weekend

I guess that I’ll have to start by apologizing for some of the content in my last post. I wrote that I was probably going to get some stick by putting Eduardo and Carlos Vela in a list that had Pascal Cygan, Denilson and Mikael Silvestre and boy, did I get some stick or what. Many gooners expected names like Francis Jeffers and Sebastien Squillaci to be in the list but as I wrote in that same post, the list is endless..

Moving on from that minor setback, this weekend turned out to be a boring affair because I was forced to watch some countries bore me to tears with 0-0 draws as well as a 1-0 England win in a game that I anticipated to have a boatload of goals at least. From a neutral point of view, it was an interesting match between two football heavyweights but Vicente del Bosque had to succumb to just his sixth loss as Spain’s manager which is pretty impressive if you ask me.

The most important fixtures from a European perspective where the European Championships playoffs that took place between eight teams with only four joining the remaining 12 that have already qualified. In other parts of the globe, Arsenal sent 16 ambassadors to represent their national teams and here’s a full list of the Gunners in action:

Aaron Ramsey

The Welsh captain led his fellow dragons as they breathed a baptism of fire past Norway in a resounding 4-1 victory. The world’s best left-footed Chimpanzee opened the deadlock before the fastest hobbit currently playing in Liverpool made it two. Wolves Sam Vokes completed the rout with a brace.

Laurent Koscielny

The Kosinator has been in inspired form this season and it was only a matter of time before he was going to be called up by Laurent Blanc. He finally made his first cap for France in their 1-0 victory over the United States. Fulham’s Clint Dempsey was ubiquitous on the pitch and Everton’s Tim Howard made an unbelievable save from Karim Benzema’s free kick. Marseille’s Loic Remy scored what proved to be the winner with a placed effort from an over the top pass.

Tomas Rosicky

Little Mozart captained his side to put one foot in the European Championships after a 2-0 win against surprise package Montenegro. Rosicky was voted as the Man of the Match as he pulled all the strings in the midfield.

Theo Walcott

The pacey winger played 45 minutes in England’s 1-0 victory over Spain. As expected, the Spaniards dominated possession but the Lampback of NotreDame bellied his years and came up with the goods again.

There was so much talk at the start of the season that the Lampback was past his prime but he has been impressive in the Premier League since AVB handed him another chance. He even got a goal and gave an assist when Chelsea played Arsenal but the pick of the bunch was the performance of Captain Van-tastic.

Gervinho

The fore-headed one was in action when the Elephants took on last summer’s World Cup hosts in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth but it ended in a 1-1 draw. Sibuniso Gaxa scored an embarrassing own goal to put Gervinho’s side ahead but a Katlego Mphela free kick leveled the contest.

I will never forget Mphela’s free kick against Spain in the 2010 Confederations Cup. It left me screaming so hard that my mum came out of her room to check if anything had happened to her beloved son. I would like you all to scream like me so I’ve decided to put the video of the goal in this post.

Andrey Arshavin

Russia’s football czar led his country to a 1-1 draw against Euro 2004 winners Greece. Roman Shirokov gave the visitors a quick lead in just two minutes but the experienced Kostas Katsouranis leveled the tie. Arshavin played all 90 minutes.

Robin van Persie and Johan Djourou

This lethal forward got injured for five months in a fixture against Italy last year so Arsene Wenger took out time to talk Bert van Marwijk about the striker’s availability in the friendly game against Switzerland. He played the entire match and shot blanks in a 0-0 draw but he was sent back home on a Red Ribbon as Holland is set to play Germany tomorrow without the Flying Dutchman.

Johan Djourou was on the other end of the pitch for 90 minutes and he was among the players that made sure that van Persie and the rest of the Dutch attack remained quiet throughout the game.

Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski

Both goalies were called up by Poland’s coach but Wojciech Szczesny got the nod when Poland took on Italy. Mario Balotelli and Giampaolo Pazzini scored for Italy in the 2-0 win but Szczesny can be happy with his performance because he kept the Italians at bay several times.

Lukasz Fabianski will probably get the nod when Poland plays Hungary on Tuesday.

Thomas Vermaelen

The Verminator enjoyed some good time out at the dugout as Belgium defeated Romania by a 2-1 scoreline. The man-mountain Daniel van Buyten put the Belgians ahead and an own goal from Rasvan Cocis but Vermaelen’s side two up. Romanian veteran Daniel Niculae reduced the deficit for the visitors but it wasn’t enough as the game ended like that.

Vermaelen has followed the Belgium side that will play France in Paris and I’m pretty sure that Vermaelen will want to get him some French fries on the pitch on Tuesday.

Alex Song

Alex Song was in the starting lineup when Cameroon brushed Sudan aside in the LG Friendly Cup. The game ended at 3-1 in favor of Cameroon.

Per Mertesacker

Arsenal’s beanpole defender spent time on the bench like his defensive counterpart Thomas Vermaelen. However, it was a free scoring contest as Ukraine and Germany ended the game with three goals apiece.

Andriy Yarmolenko opened the scoring for the hosts and Yevgen Konoplyanka made it two. Bayern’s Toni Kroos pulled one back for the Germans but Serhiy Nazarenko brought Ukraine back to their comfort zone as the first half ended with a two-goal advantage for the Andriy Shevchenko captained side.

Joachim Loew probably went haywire in the dressing room as the Germans came back strongly in the second half. Bayer Leverkusen’s Simon Rolfes made it 3-2 before Bayern Munich’s Young Money singer turned footballer, Young Mueller Baby scored what proved to be the final goal of the fiesty encounter.

Park Chu-Young

Everybody expected Park Chu-Young to score again when Korea Republic visited United Arab Emirates and he duly delivered. Park has been a goal scoring machine for his nation this season and his goal against Bolton was a thing of beauty.

With the present form of van Persie, Park and Marouane Chamakh will have to be content with a place on the bench and they’ll have to strut their stuff when deployed in Cup matches.

As for the Under-21 level, youngsters like Francis Coquelin and Alex the Chambered Ox continued their fledgling careers.

We have one more week before we go back to civilization n the form of club football.

Till then,

Sayonara.