Not sure if we can strictly claim Tomas Rosicky, but what the hell, we’ll certainly be watching him with interest. Including the new signing, the 16 Arsenal stars at the World Cup finals in Germany will be representing eleven countries. The only one of the eight groups without an Arsenal interest will be Group D. A few will not see a great deal of action – Gilberto, Sol Campbell, Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas will probably spend more time on the bench than on the field, but injuries and suspensions could change that. Gilberto wasn’t even in the initial Brazil squad last time around, a late replacement for the injured Emerson. As for Freddie Ljungberg he’s a bit like Wayne Rooney in that he might not be fit for the group matches.

I’ll start writing more about the individual players once the football has begun. On a more general note, I haven’t had a really close look at the draw yet, but a potential set of quarter finals could be: France v Italy and Holland v Germany in one half of the draw, with England v Argentina and Brazil v Spain in the other. Mouth-watering, although it never works out that way and a couple of big guns always exit early with a surprise or two in the last eight. Just remember these quarter finalists from last time: USA, South Korea, Senegal and Turkey. Too many top quality sides went out early either due to dodgy refereeing, injury or fatigue. And frankly, there were few classic encounters that live in the memory from 2002, unlike 1998 which was full of drama.

Of course Brazil are everyone’s favourites, and with so many of their squad now established stars in the European leagues, the idea of them winning on European soil for the first time since 1958 would obviously surprise few people. But once the group stages are done, the knockout Cup format means an average day at the office could see elimination, with penalty shoot-outs a target for the defensively minded. So just to throw a couple of names into the hat, if France and Italy do indeed meet in the last eight, I’d fancy the winner of that match to take to trophy, if only because predicting Brazil to win the damn thing is so uninspired and predictable, admittedly unlike their Samba soccer.

Other predictions. Spain will do their normal thing and underachieve. Switzerland will surprise a few people and could even win their group. Germany have a dodgy side but will at least make the last four. I have an awful feeling Holland might disappoint with too many youngsters in the squad. The African teams should do better than previously with the players’ increased experience of football in Europe, but I actually think they won’t. From the international African football I’ve seen, there seem to be too many errors and too much profligacy in front of goal.

I normally try to attend World Cup final tournaments. Only one I haven’t done at least a fortnight of since 1986 was the 1994 USA tournament. However, all these money-draining Champions League trips and the difficulty getting tickets in the ballot means that I’ll only be doing three matches in three days this time around. So I bought myself a 28” flatscreen telly for £180 this morning! None of your HD rubbish! Who cares about picture quality, let’s just hope for some decent football, dramatic matches and great memories. Oh and as for England’s hopes, forget it! The midfield haven’t got the first clue where they should be playing with the exception of Beckham and the manager isn’t cute enough to sort out the mess when faced with quality opposition. Frankly I thought Jamaica were unlucky to lose at Old Trafford!!