In news that will dismay Arsenal fans, both Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal have been called up to the provisional Spain squad for the Confederations Cup 2013.
The pointless tournament takes place in Brazil between June 15th and 30th, where the World and European Champions will battle it out with the host nation, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Mexico, Uruguay and the mighty Tahiti for the least prestigious prize in international football.
While it’s likely to be more relaxed than a real tournament that people actually care about, it’s nowhere near as relaxing as the players sitting on a far-flung beach drinking virgin Piña Coladas and not training in the heat every day.
Cazorla was the only Arsenal player to play in all 38 Premier League games, quite a feat for his first season in English football, and his quality means he’s more than likely to make the final squad which Vincente del Bosque whittles down the numbers.
Spain’s group includes Tahiti, Nigeria and Uruguay, making them a shoe-in for the semi-final at least and the chances are they’ll go all the way to the final on June 30th.
At which point FIFA will probably have come up with another mini-tournament for them to play in.
Gah, we say. Gah.
I don’t see why Arteta wasn’t called into the squad? 🙁 Makes me sad, knowing it’s his dream.
Doesn’t he have a calf injury at the moment?
Wouldn’t this be the perfect oppurtunity to give Arteta a cap??!!
Surely he deserves at least that out of respect.. I know many gooners feel the same way as me, are we biased in our viewss of him
Poor tekkers
+ ?
Yes it is a shame for him really, something like this would have been ideal, as its something you would think they might not necessarily play all the big stars every game and give some new faces a run out. Still I think for us Arsenal fans its better not at least, having 3 players called up for it and all of them pretty darn important players for us, would be a bit risky – as it is its a bloody nuisance quite honestly, especially Santi could have hoped he would get a chance for a rest!
This might be a stupid question and forgive my ignorance, but if Arteta hasn’t played football for Spain ever at any level, wouldn’t he be eligible to play for England by now? Not that he would of course, but it would be hilarious to see him fart in snivelly Hodgson’s big nose if they tried to call him up
Sadly no, he played for Spain U-21 but was not eligible to represent England at the same time. FIFA have some odd rules in that regard.
Even if he was eliigible , doubt he’d sell his soul.
spain has got two many players who rule the centre of the park …… xavi, inesta, sergio busquests, fabregas, arteta, cazorla and many others……….. probably the spain manger selected busquests and xavi for the defensive midfielder role or is palying without a defensive midfielder in which case arteta is not really a box to box player, and although arteta is also very good creatively, cazorla and others, unlike arteta, had a whole season to themselves to prove their mettle in the creative midfiled position…… and national mangers usually reward performance over potential….
It’s annoying but it would’ve been more surprising to see them ignored. Hope they can do well and not get injured
On one hand, I think it’s a damn shame that Arteta doesn’t get called up, especially after his fantastic season. On the other, I’m glad there won’t be an injury risk, he is so crucial for us.
Still, I know he dreams of the call up, so it’d be nice if they’d finally recognize his immense talent and fulfill that. Sadly for us, he ain’t gettin’ any younger.
the annoying thing is they’ll likely be starters, with barca/madrid screaming “let our boys have a rest”.
Buzzing for the Confed cup though! Only great when your country are in it. Can’t wait to watch Nigeria vs Spain! Come on Super eagles! #ChampionsofAfrica! 😉
Arteta is in a bad position, he is up against, Inestea, Xavi, Xabi and now the younger players comign through, Isco and Javi Martinez. I left out Busquest as it really shouldn’t be a competition between Arteta and Busquets as Arteta is 4000 times a better player. Busquests is like when Nicky Butt used to get called up to the England squad.
Arteta should have declared himself English and bossed the midfield for years for the three lions, would have been a lynchpin in the team.
As much as people don’t want to admit it because he’s a diver, Busquets is probably the best in the world in that position. He’s the reason that Xavi and Iniesta get so much freedom and he’s only 24.
Yeah, Busquets has been an extremely important part in both the all-conquering Barca teams and arguably the most successful international team ever (Spain 2008-2012). You’d think that in itself would tip people off to look at him a little closer. He’s an amazing player. Whether he dives or not has nothing to do with his playing abilities.
Arteta’s not good enough for his position in the squad. Xavi Garcia/Martinez/Alonso and Sergio Busqets. Its sad but they have too much depth. Maybe if he was a Center Back. If Santi/Mata/Cesc have a guaranteed starting place, there’s no hope.
Arteta is fast becoming a bit of an Arsenal legend. I imagine if he spends another two years with us, even if he doesn’t start every game, if remains a consistent and reliable player, he’ll be spoken of very highly for years to come. He’s clearly found his home here.
And just to add, seeing Arteta and Wenger embrace at the end of the final day, I do wonder if Arteta is being groomed for something more after retirement.
i love mikel “art”eta. any function he can fulfill for the club I will gladly accept. He certainly looks like coach material to me
Yeah more like a coach..with a great personality influence on his team…
‘Something more’. Wenger likes the pretty ones 😉
no need to panic. chances are both will play only as subs or not at all
How are the other teams selected for this tournament? I’m guessing Nigeria and Spain by winning cups (I think nigeria won ACN) but how did Tahiti and Italy make it in?
Italy runners up of Euro 2012. Cos Spain are holders of both the World cup and Euro nations cup. Tahiti are champions of Oceania.
Cazorlas legs must feel like they’ve been ran over by a train. He was in Malaga where they atleast had a midseason break of close to a month. He moved to england where the game is more intense/physical and demanding play virtually all games for us, little to no substitution. I can imagine he was really looking forward to the summer, flapping his tiny legs in the waters of cancoon for a well deserved break, but no he just had to be called up.
He’ll be knackered by the times season kicks off no DOUBT!
It’s a good things his legs are so short. Won’t hurt so much.
[…] 来源：[Arseblog News] […]
Too bad for cazorla and arsenal…. Damn internationals…
[…] Cazorla and Monreal injuries imminent […]