Daily Links: Friendlies Are Unequivocally Stupid Edition

In the grand tradition of bad timing and arrogance, FIFA scheduled a friendly between England and Scotland for August 14, 2013. That's tomorrow, Wednesday, just three days before the English Premier League season kicks off.

Naturally, Arsenal's top scorer from last season, Theo Walcott, took a knock in training with his country on Tuesday, according to a number of reports. Below is a look at Walcott's status for Saturday's season opener and a few other storylines developing as we speak.

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Despite the injury, England boss Roy Hodgson believes Walcott will be ready for the match with Scotland. No mention made of the club that pays Walcott's wages. (Sky Sports)

Apparently Yoann Gourcuff wants to play for Arsenal and will take a pay cut from his current wages at  Lyon to do it. If only he wouldn't be a completely redundant player within the Arsenal side. (ESPN FC)

Both Yaya Sanogo and Aaron Ramsey appear to have suffered injuries in the last week. Their statuses are officially in doubt for the start of the season. (Arseblog)

Arsenal target Luiz Gustavo will make an announcement regarding his future on Thursday, according to his agent. (SkySports Germany via Twitter)

Crystal Palace made the signing of Maroune Chamakh official on Tuesday. He'll likely appear in Palace's opener against Spurs on Saturday, which is great news for Tottenham supporters. (The Guardian)

Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem is eligible to play for about 15 different countries it seems. One of them could be the United States should he take advantage of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which allows him to apply for citizenship since his father has already done so. (The Washington Post)

The Luis Suarez to Arsenal rumors have devolved into a meeting between naughty children and a teacher. Brendan Rogers wants Suarez to apologize. Suarez's reply was basically "you started it." (ESPN UK)

Older story here, but Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen won't be on the field for some time. Prior to the Emirates Cup, the boss said he'd be out of action for at least six more weeks. (The Mirror)

The Starting 11 for Saturday's opener has been bantered about heavily in the last few days. This piece looks at Jack Wilshere's role, as well as some positives and negatives for the Gunners this season. (Arseblog)

And, finally, here's our debut blog post on Monday, which looks at the reason we all do this in the first place. (One Club on Boylston)