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Firstly: happy St. Davids day.

Theo scored for England under 19s last night. It was a penalty which he initially missed, but a re-take was ordered from which he slotted home. With our current form, surely it can't be long before he's given a start?

Sol's injury has lengthened and he'll be out for another month at least; The entire case against RVP has been dropped; Jens is convinced he's going to get a year long extension to his current deal.

I am beginning to wonder whether we'll ever see Sol in an Arsenal shirt again. He might see this world cup as the swansong for his entire career, not just his England one. The way he's been playing for Arsenal this season, I find it amazing he can still, basically, expect to be selected by Sven. If he could go more than two games without picking up an injury, I'd take Woodgate ahead of Sol. I know he's shy, but it would be nice to hear Sol being a bit more vocal about his desire to play for Arsenal again. Ash has exactly the right attitude in this, admittedly propaganda-ish, article from the official website. Get well soon both of you!

We're not the only ones suffering from Ash's current injury problems. England face Uruguay tonight with Wayne Bridge at left back. Bridge is an OK player, and will probably do an adequate job; of course, he will be remembered by most gooners as the player who knocked us out of the CL in the year we should have won it. I should imagine most England fans will want a fit Ashley Cole back for the world cup though, as he is clearly a better player than Bridge. Carrick and Bent are also making their debuts. Despite being a Spud, I do have a reluctant admiration for Carrick and I think he's England quality. Wish Arsene had signed him, and Robinson, when he had the chance. Bent has done really well this year at Charlton, but I don't think we should expect too much from him. I'd be surprised if he's used as anything more than an emergency option in the world cup, and with Owen fit I can't see him breaking into the Owen-Rooney-Crouch-Defoe combination we'll be taking. Still, can't hurt to give him a go, and given the topsy-turvy season Defoe's had, there is a chance that Sven might gamble and take Bent instead. Although it took him about three years to drop Heskey, so i'm not overly hopeful.

Oh, and we're being linked with a teenage French midfield player. Surprisingly. He could be good but i haven't heard of him before. It would be nice if we bought an established player in the summer, sigh. Preferably one who could score/tackle or, shock horror, both!