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Wednesday Kickoff: Henry strains calf, shooting at U.S. women’s hotel & more

TH12 (Getty Images)

Thierry Henry has been able to provide a spark for Arsenal in his brief time on loan with the club, but the Gunners may have to look elsewhere for inspiration during their crucial match this weekend.

Henry picked up a calf strain in training, and his status is uncertain for Arsenal's match against Manchester United. The club is awaiting test results before determining his availability.

According to reports out of England, manager Arsene Wenger was considering starting the New York Red Bulls Designated Player in the match, trying to shake things up for a club that has dropped consecutive league games to Fulham and Swansea City.

So far in his brief time on loan with his former club Henry came off the bench and scored a game-winning goal against Leeds United in the FA Cup and appeared as a second-half substitute against Swansea.

Here are some more stories to kick off your Wednesday:

SHOOTING OCCURS AT U.S. WOMEN'S HOTEL

fatal shooting occurred in the Vancouver hotel that is hosting the United States' women's soccer team, which is there for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.

According to a statement released by U.S. Soccer, no members of the team were involved in the shooting and nobody on the team witnessed the incident, which occurred at the Bar One restaurant inside the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

The shooting took place just before 9 p.m. and police have no suspects as of this time, according to reports.

SPAIN STAYS ATOP FIFA RANKINGS, USA CLIMBS A SPOT

There was little change at the top of the FIFA rankings after a December that saw only 11 international matches played. The top 11 teams stayed put with Spain leading the pack followed by the Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay and England.

The United States was bumped up one place to 33rd, sandwiched in-between Algeria and Peru. Bob Bradley's Egypt side tumbled down the rankings, falling five places to 36th while Mexico remained the top-ranked CONCACAF side in 21st.

The United States' next two opponents, Venezuela and Panama, come in at 41st and 47th, respectively, with Panama reaching its highest ranking ever.

ANCELOTTI SAYS DROGBA MUST GO IF TORRES IS TO PROSPER

Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has not been shy when it comes to voicing his opinion on the club that fired him back in the spring. The newly-minted Paris St-Germain manager told an Italian newspaper that if Chelsea are committed to making Fernando Torres a success, Drogba must be sold.

Torres hasn't scored since mid-October and will be the focal point of Chelsea's attack due to Drogba's participation in the African Cup of Nations.

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Do you hope to see Henry play against United? Read anything into the latest FIFA rankings? Do you think Chelsea should sell Drogba?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Just to clarify – if anyone posted a link to a goal that featured copywriter material, the site would be liable and could be shut down. For ONE LINK. Oh and if you post that link – you could be sent to jail for 5 years. Seriously.

    People are saying keep politics out of the site, and I agree, but this legislation literally directly effects your ability to freely post on this blog or anywhere else on the internet.

    Watch the video and please do your own research.
    http://vimeo.com/31100268

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  2. Me too! I thought: “first, he’s yellin at his own fans and now he’s shooting at our women’s team.” Henry needs to get a grip (but not on a handgun).

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  3. Unless fifa makes significant changes to the draw, there is no ‘Pot 2’ in the sense that NE Matt is using.

    There’s a Pot 1 with eight seeded teams (always includes the host nation). After that pots 2-4 are numbered, yes, but the distribution of teams in those pots is based solely on region.

    Since there’s no way we’ll be ranked in the top eight, what we really want is for fifa to put concacaf in the same pot as africa.

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  4. When I first read this I thought that Henry had picked up an injury while shooting at The US women’s hotel. It made this otherwise interesting news that much more disappointing in the end.

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  5. Pipa’s kind of cute, plus she’s a princess’ sister so that’s a plus. Sopa sounds like a delicious Mexican treat at a good authentic Mexican restaurant.

    But in seriousness, I would say the only way it would affect SBI would be no more “MUST SEE GOAL links” because those would not be on the internet anywhere except places where people own the rights to them.

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  6. Isn’t the seeding based on your performance over the last 2 world cups? Just like 1998 screwed us for 2006, 2006 is looking to hurt us for 2014.

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  7. Interesting. I thought Henry only faked injuries for games on turf and/or games he didn’t care about and/or…oh wait. I meant games he gets paid a crapload of money for.

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  8. We need to get our ranking in the “teens” or low 20’s at the minimum by December 2013. Best chance of getting in “Pot 2” and getting a more favorable draw for the World Cup

    Reply

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