Morning all, here’s a quick Sunday round-up.
There was Arsenal involvement in the World Cup last night as Gabriel started for Brazil in their 1-1 draw with Morocco. Gabriel Martinelli didn’t get off the bench. Earlier Switzerland drew 1-1 with Qatar, and overnight Scotland beat Haiti thanks to a scrappy John McGinn goal, while Australia produced an excellent 2-0 win over Turkey.
I can’t lie though, none of these fixtures are really moving the needle for me. I thought about watching some of the Switzerland game but couldn’t be arsed, and the times of the rest of them made the decision for me. Later on, Germany play Curacao, and I guess Kai Havertz will be involved, while the Netherlands take on Japan in what could be a pretty tasty encounter. That’s one I’d definitely be interested in, and a 9pm kickoff in this part of the world makes it more watchable.
There’s no Jurrien Timber, of course, but he’s remained with the squad for a few days to take a bit of a break before he heads back home to try and get this groin injury sorted out. Speaking to the Dutch press, he said:
“In about five days I’ll go back to London, where I’ll undergo several tests and see the doctors. I’m taking a break now before I start rehabilitating.”
“The recovery will still take a while. We are going to do scans and draw up a plan together. But I don’t expect to be back very soon.”
That, at least, is the Google Translate version of what he said, so perhaps there’s some nuance there that isn’t picked up, but it’s clear from the length of time he was out before the Champions League final and the fact he withdrew from the World Cup, this is a complicated injury he’s dealing with. As I wrote last week, with Ben White also recovering from a knee ligament injury, Arsenal have some thinking to do about right-back next season.
For me there’s a definite link between the injuries both these players have had, and the fact it’s almost been an either/or situation with regards their availability. Rather than them being able to ease the burden on each other, they’ve both had periods where they’ve had to pick up the slack and I’m convinced that has played a part in their fitness issues. I will say I think there’s also been an element of bad luck to an extent, but that still doesn’t change the fact this is a bit of a problem that we’ve got to solve going into next season.
The overnight games later include Ivory Coast verus Piero Hincapie’s Ecuador, while Sweden, with Viktor Gyokeres likely to start up front, play Tunisia. Good luck to the Arsenal lads.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now, enjoy your Sunday folks.