Finally It's Over...Sorta
I was just about to rejoice that the international break was over when upon awaking I was met with the tragic news that Polish people don't know how to close dome roofs. Sigh. It rained all day and night in Warsaw causing the pitch to be completely water logged. Hence the game was post-poned to later tonight. So we have to wait an extra day for our English players to return to Arsenal. I guess it's only Ox since England already made sure Theo was injured. So let's hope Alex comes back all in one piece.
During a pulsating game, Giroud grabbed a late late late equalizer against Spain for France. I'm glad the big man scored. I think he was on the pitch for only 8 minutes total coming on late for an injured Benzema. He headed in a delightful cross from Ribery and that should give Oly a great chance to kick on with us. The more he gets into the groove, the better for us. I fully expect him to start at Norwich and I think Wenger will now give him a run of games to settle into the side.
At the other end for France, Kos didn't have the best of games. He gave a PK away that Cesc duly missed but Kos seemed to be trying to do too much. Perhaps after Desailly's recent endorsement that he was up there with Pique and Vidic, Laurent was hoping to impress at the expense of his natural game. At the moment, it does look like Verm and Mert are our best duo at the back. Tough on Laurent since I thought he was easily our best defender last year. Still form is temporary, class is permanent. I know he'll be back to his best and pushing to start soon.
Cazorla also played in the game. Silva got injured early so Santi came on and played most of the game. Tidy and silky, he played a more controlled game. He did have a couple of shots that were saved by Lloris, no doubt hungry for more goals after his strike against Belarus during the first round of international games last Friday. Let's hope the next time Santi and Lloris meet, he gets a couple past that lousy spud.
As for the other boys, Mert was part of an epic 4-4 game where Sweden came back from 4-0 down to tie in Germany. This time with no Phil Dowd shenanigans. Per was on the scoresheet with a swivel and shot. He hasn't scored for us yet but let's hope that changes soon. Poldi came on very late and didn't have much time to influence the game. Good for us though. He'll be fresh for Norwich.
In other notables, Djourou and Vermalen both kept clean sheets as the Swiss and Belgian teams both claimed 2-0 wins over Iceland and Scotland respectively. Ramsey was suspended for the Wales game against Croatia and did not play so another plus for us.
It seems that other than Theo, we seem to have come through this injury mine of international games relatively unscathed. Knock on wood or Rooney's head. We won't know the condition of all the players till they return on Thursday evening. Cross your fingers they're all healthy, fit and ready to go for Norwich. On paper it seems like an easy game but coming back after international games and trying to get into the groove again is always tricky. Especially in away games. More on that later. Happy Humpday all!