…dammit, I worked and I slaved over this and I’ll be doggone if I’m gonna let a silly thing like deadlines or the fact that a winner was announced before I even submitted this stop me, so here it is. I’m rather proud of it, even if I’m not the best photoshopper out there. Then again, I’ve learned all I know (precious little, I’ll admit) all by my pretty little self.

Among other issues, I like the idea that Özil might carry on a tradition of technically gifted passers in the mold of Brady, Pirès, or Fàbregas. If nothing else, during what is a slow news week thanks to the interlull, I hope it provides a little bit of eye-candy for you. We seem to have made it through the previous week without any players picking up silly knocks as in past interlulls, so let’s hope that the upcoming week gives our lads some time to get to know each other after their matches on Tuesday.

In news as close to Arsenal-related as I can get, Mexico’s shock-loss to Honduras leaves them teetering on elimination from the World Cup, which makes their match against the U.S, who lost to Costa Rica but are still in second place in the group, all the more vital. However, Jozy Altidore, who joined Sunderland this summer after scoring 31 goals across all competitions for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar last year, picked up a second yellow during the Costa Rica match and won’t face Mexico on Tuesday, and this presumably means he’ll be back in plenty of time to prepare for Saturday’s match. So it goes.