The dominant news surrounding the USMNT right now is Landon Donovan's recent debut for Everton at the Emirates. While I think the fervor surrounding his performance is a little ridiculous, there is no question that Donovan pulled off a fine debut, providing one assist and generally making life hard for the Arsenal defenders. The only instances where Donovan looked shaky were in defensive plays, including one failed tackle which lead to an Arsenal goal. Still, keep in mind that Donovan is no defender, and not being relied upon to defend, so his shakiness in the back shouldn't count against his overall performance. Next week Everton play the in form Manchester City, but I think Donovan's greatest test will be when he plays clubs like Birmingham and Sunderland, whose highly physical style of play could counter Landon's quick and skillful dribbling.
Another recent development is Stuart Holden's trail at Bolton. The American followed Owen Coyle (don't even get me started on his move) to Bolton from Burnley to continue his trail at the Reebok. I'm glad Holden choose to go to England and not to Rangers, as had previously been rumored. If Beasley and Edu have shown us anything, it's that it's basically impossible for Americans to stay in form in the heavy hitting SPL, and Holdon's slim frosted tip body would have made no exception. Weather or not Bolton is Holden's team I'm not so sure. They certainly are a team in need of help, and with almost no depth (and little quality to start) in their squad if Holden has a successful trial he could be almost guaranteed a significant chunk of playing time.
One piece of news which has largely slid under the radar is Wake Forest Universities Cody Arnoux's signing with Everton. The American signed his professional contract way back in August, following his final season with Wake Forest. I mention this because Arnoux has been a member of Everton's reserves since the the start of the season and with recent developments we could be hearing a lot more about Cody especially now the Landon is at Everton.
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