Internationals: Sixteen Gunners called up

There are 16 Arsenal stars away on international duty for the latest round of World Cup 2010 Qualifying.

Read on for the full list of which players will be swapping Club for country over the next 10 days.

Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, William Gallas, Gael Clichy
Lithuania v France, Kaunas, March 28
France v Lithuania, St Denis, April 1
 As usual there is a strong Arsenal contingent in Raymond Domenech’s squad for their crucial double-header against Lithuania. Les Bleus are currently five points behind Serbia and Lithuania in Group Seven, with a game in hand.

Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue
Ivory Coast v Malawi, Abidjan, March 29.
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are both in the squad as the Elephants’ kick off their final qualifying group with a tough test against Malawi.

Eduardo
Andorra v Croatia, Andorra La Vella, April 1
Eduardo has been called up for Croatia’s visit to minnows Andorra next week. Slaven Bilic’s men currently trail Group Six leaders England by five points but should have no trouble against Andorra who have only scored once in their four defeats so far.

Robin van Persie
Holland v Scotland, Amsterdam, March 27
Holland v Macedonia, Amsterdam, April 1
Robin van Persie is in the squad for the Dutch double-header in Amsterdam. Marco van Basten’s men sit top of Group Nine with three wins out of three so far.

Carlos Vela
Mexico v Costa Rica, Mexico City, March 28
Honduras v Mexico, San Pedro Sula, April 1
Carlos Vela has been called up by Sven-Goran Eriksson for El Tri’s two upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Mexico did not have the best of starts to this Qualifying Round, losing 2-0 in the United States on February 11.

Aaron Ramsey
Wales v Finland, Cardiff, March 28
Wales v Germany, Cardiff, April 1
Wales can move to the top of Group Four with victories in their two Millennium Stadium clashes next week. John Toshack has once again called upon the services of Aaron Ramsey for the task.

Johan Djourou
Moldova v Switzerland, Chisinau, March 28
Switzerland v Moldova, Geneva, April 1
Johan Djourou is in the squad for Switzerland’s two clashes with rock-bottom Moldova. Six points could move the Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side above Israel and Greece, to the top of Group Two.

Lukasz Fabianski
Northern Ireland v Poland, Belfast, March 28
Poland v San Marino, Kielce, April 1
Lukasz Fabianski has been called up for Poland’s trip to Northern Ireland and their visit of whipping boys San Marino. Things couldn’t be tighter in Group Three, with four of the six teams locked on seven points.

Emmanuel Adebayor
Togo v Cameroon, Accra, March 28
Despite not featuring for Arsenal since the North London derby draw on February 8, Emmanuel Adebayor has been called up for Togo’s World Cup qualifier against fellow African heavyweights Cameroon.

Nicklas Bendtner
Malta v Denmark, Ta’Qali, March 28
Denmark v Albania, Copenhagen, April 1
Denmark currently sit pretty at the top of Group One, with a game in hand. They could put one foot in the World Cup proper with six points in their upcoming two fixtures. As usual, Nicklas Bendtner has been called up to Morten Olsen’s squad.

Andrey Arshavin
Russia v Azerbaijan, Moscow, March 28
Liechtenstein v Russia, Vaduz, April 1
Russia, who currently trail Group Four leaders Germany by four points, have called up Andrey Arshavin for their two World Cup qualifiers. Guus Hiddink’s men could climb to first place with wins against Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan who are currently bottom and second-bottom respectively.

[Tuesday, March 24, 2009]

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