Normally an International break spells nothingness. All things Arsenal seem to go out of the window and get replaced with anxiety of players getting injured and a bit more nothingness. But not this International break... Oh no! Maybe because it's sandwiched between two domestic fixtures, maybe because at the moment we've entered the "business end" of the season...

So, "what's cracking", I hear you say... Well, young Theo's Webcast yesterday (on Arsenal.com) was a very promising little cameo from the young Englishman. Anyone who listened to it would be excited at the player's return. And Eduardo has been included in Croatia's squad, that's and VP says draws are bad - that's right. Oh, yeah, and there's Brazil vs Italy at the Emirates.

So, young Theo Walcott has been speaking on Arsenal.com’s webcast yesterday and has being giving his low down on his return from injury and his hopes for the season. He’s a tidy except:

“I am nearly there and hopefully I will be back by the end of this month. I am doing a lot of rehab work now with the shoulder, landing on it and also in the gym with a lot of weights to build the muscle strength back. Obviously I do not want to do it again, so I have got to be 100 per cent fit.”

The end of the month is about 2 and a half weeks away. Very exciting that we may have Theo back soon – he’s exactly the type of player that we’re missing now. With Arshavin coming through, we’ve suddenly two new pacy and skillful wingers – something that we’ve been missing for most of the season.

Theo thinks his injury is resolved now and is looking forward to more playing time:

“My dad had an operation on his right side (shoulder) as well, and when I had my left side done they did a scan on my right and said that something might have to be done at a different stage. So actually it is good that it has come when I am young, and hopefully now it will be as strong as anything.”

He’s also kept an eye on new recruit, Andrei Arshavin:

“Hopefully when I am back fit again, I can play a lot of football with him. When he gets his fitness back up, he will be a top player for us definitely. I have seen him on YouTube a lot, watching how he plays, the balls he can spot. He can do unbelievable passes. He is going to be a good addition to the squad.”

Maybe Theo reads this blog too?

So, in addition to the return of Theo, we’ve got Arshavin and in addition to all of this, Eduardo is on his way back. Exciting times for us – he’s a quality, quality player. He’s set to be named on the bench for Croatia tomorrow and you may see a cameo substitute appearance with 15 / 20 minutes to go. Bilic – manager of Croatia – had this to say:

“The main thing, even regarding the national team is that he’s fit, he’s healthy, he’s got no problems, he’s (been) training for three weeks now. He played a couple of games for the reserves. I was with Mr Wenger in that training camp last week when they played West Ham and he’s alright.

“I think he’s going to play for, I don’t know, half an hour, more or less. It’s great to have him back. We sorely missed Eduardo, especially in the Euro 2008 finals, hence his return will be a major boost in our bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa,” assistant manager Aljosa Asanovic said.

Very exciting.

Van Persie is also excited about the return of Eduardo and the Russian joining us – he spoke on the matter.

“Yes Eduardo has been working really hard and everyone is just really happy that he is back. He has been out for 12 months now. Hopefully he can play, the sooner the better.  And Arshavin has looked good in training – they both have. I really believe in their qualities so there is more to come.”

He also touched on the six points that we’ve dropped by our draws against Everton, West Ham and Sp*rs. 

“In the last three Premier League games we have had three draws and that is just not good enough. It’s six points missing. We are working hard but we know we are not there yet. We are not scoring enough goals and we are not playing well enough. But everyone is staying positive and we are trying to help each other. The basics are there, it’s just up to us to finish it off now. “Sometimes it’s me to blame or another player to blame. Sometimes we are unlucky. Everybody can judge that for themselves. But we are still creating the chances. Even with 10 men we had a few chances on Sunday. So I am not really worried because we are still doing that part.”

And he’s right – it’s going to be a tight finish, I really hope the likes of Theo, Andrei and Dudu can invigorate our season and help us push into the top four…

Okay, that’s it for me today – sit back, relax and enjoy tonight’s football… Til tomorrow.]]>