Just Wreck My Ankle

After all the fans' moaning about the Interlull, it was fairly inevitable. The Fates saw us refreshing the BBC and Sky Sports Arsenal pages, saw us trawling YouTube for old highlights, saw bloggers like myself wearily slumped over our keyboards, racking our brains for something the slightest bit relevant. They decided to act.

The Arsenal fans were too sure of themselves, too happy. Something big had to happen... something disastrous.

Ireland v France... too high profile. Spain v Argentina... hardly even a contact sport. England Under 21s v Portugal... no, they'd done the 'no left backs' thing before, and we'd ended up reaching the Champions League final. It had to be devastating, it had to be completely unexpected, and it had to make sense.

Italy v Holland... perfect.

No one would be watching - Ireland v France was far more important, and much closer to home. Besides, watching Italy is about as enjoyable as clawing your own eyes out, even if they are playing a team as entertaining as the Netherlands. Arsenal's talismanic forward and second top scorer was up against one of the most robust and physical defences in the world. It had to be done.

Van Persie latched onto a through ball. Chiellini had been slightly outpaced, but Robin was within reach. The Fates intervened - one blew the ball into the perfect position for impact, one knelt on all fours in front of van Persie, and one gave Chiellini a forceful shove. Robin's ankle ricocheted off Chiellini's foot, contorting in the air as he fell, and the apocalyptic, sensationalist headlines began:

"Van Persie Out for Months"
"Van Persie's Season Over"
"Wenger: We Can't Do It"
"Fabregas: I'm Leaving"
"Chiellini Employs Bodyguards After Hate Mail"
"Van Persie Dead"

This is Eduardo's big chance, and he's going to have to take it if he wants more time in that central position. Particularly if he wants that big transfer to Liverpool that the News of the World have sniffed out...

Walcott's nearly back, and he'd relish the opportunity to return to his natural position; although I'm still unsure if I'd want to see him hobbling around alone in the final third, attempting Henry finishes which end up reaching the Club Level seats. Carlos Vela is another option, but he seems to have blindly followed Giovani dos Santos into the swirling mists that shroud the Land of Lost Wonderkids.

Anyway, it looks like six weeks without Robin, and another four without Bendtner. God only knows what front three we'll be fielding against Chelsea in two weeks time.

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