Kolo Toure’s younger brother Yaya wants to honour the 19 fans who died during a stadium stampede at a qualifying match in the Ivory Coast by reaching the 2010 World Cup.

The injured midfielder missed Sunday’s 5-0 win over Malawi in Abidjan, where another 132 people were wounded.

“After the game I spoke with the captain, Didier Drogba, my brother and the coach. Behind this victory was a tragedy and it’s difficult because they are Ivory Coast supporters and we know them well,” Toure said Monday. “We have to go as far as we can in this competition for all the people who died.”

Witnesses said a wall at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium collapsed under the weight of fans, who set off the stampede by rushing toward the field.

The stadium was packed as fans attended to see players such as Drogba, who recently returned from injury.

Nineteen people died on Sunday in a horrific ‘stampede’ at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan during the World Cup Qualifier between the Ivory Coast and Malawi.

The stadium was full to its 50,000 capacity at the start of the match, and according to news reports, a section of wall collapsed, causing a movement of crowds.

Local police then used tear gas – in scenes similar to that of Roma v Manchester United a season ago – and the movement generated into a deadly stampede.

Ivory Coast went on to win the match 5-0, with Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue both playing. Astonishingly, the players were reportedly not aware of the severity of the incident before the match started.

Gooner Talk would like to express our deepest sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives at the game.

Nicklas Bendtner is unlikely to play for his Denmark side in their World Cup Qualifier against Albania on Wednesday after sustaining a knee injury during their 3-0 win over Malta yesterday.

The 21-year-old could be sent back to London if test results come back negative. Because of that, Denmark’s team doctor Søren Kaalund is extremely concerned about the Arsenal frontman’s injury.

“Bendtner had to go off after 20 minutes which worries me greatly. It is far too early to tell you how serious the injury is. But there is a danger that he must go home to London.” Kaalund told Sporten.DK.

According to several reports in Demark, Bendtner had jarred his knee during the game. With no scans available immediately, Nicklas will have to wait until Monday to find out the full extent of his worrying-looking knee.

“Nicklas Bendtner needs to stay calm, and that is what we also need on Wednesday night [against Albania]” concluded Kaalund.

Russia 2-0 Azerbaijan – Match Highlights

Lithuania 0-1 France – Match Highlights

Holland 3-0 Scotland – Match Highlights

Togo 1-0 Cameroon – Emmanuel Adebayor (11)

Arsenal’s International stars were in action for their respective countries tonight and it was the FIFA 2010 World Cup Qualifiers and International Friendlies that became the main talking point of the evening.

Here at Gooner Talk, we look to bring you the latest updates and results on how the Arsenal players are doing for their countries with a brief summary of how they got on.

Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, William Gallas, Gael Clichy - Lithuania v France
Emmanuel Adebayor – Togo v Cameroon
Robin van Persie – Holland v Scotland
Aaron Ramsey – Wales v Finland
Andrey Arshavin – Russia v Azerbaijan
Johan Djourou – Moldova v Switzerland
Nicklas Bendtner – Malta v Denmark

Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, William Gallas, Gael Clichy - Lithuania 0-1 France

Franck Ribery scored the lone goal Saturday to lead France over Lithuania 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match.

After Lithuania lost possession in its own half, France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff created a gap by attracting two defenders to his right before setting up Ribery, who scored into the top corner from 21 meters (yards) in the 67th minute.

Samir Nasri, who replaced Gourcuff in the 78th, nearly doubled the lead for France after playing a one-two with Thierry Henry, but Lithuania goalkeeper Zydrunas Karcemarskas stopped Nasri’s low shot with his feet in the 81st.William Gallas and Bacary Sagna were largely impressive but were rarely troubled by the Lithuanian attackers. France should of scored more than one goal, but they’ll be happy with their days work.

Emmanuel Adebayor – Togo 1-0 Cameroon

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor marked his comeback from injury with a goal to guide Togo to a 1-0 win over Cameroon in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

Adebayor, who had been out for six weeks with a hamstring problem, took advantage of an 11th-minute slip by defender Andre Bikey to settle the opening Group A game in the final round of African qualifiers.

The African Footballer of the Year went on to complete the 90 minutes in Accra but blotted his copybook by missing a second-half penalty.

Robin van Persie – Holland 2-0 Scotland

Netherlands opened up a commanding lead in World Cup qualifying Group 9 after a comfortable win over Scotland.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie were both on target with free headers in the first half.

Gary Caldwell had a headed effort harshly disallowed before Dirk Kuyt added a penalty when Christophe Berra was adjudged to have tripped Huntelaar.

Kenny Miller squandered a great early chance for Scotland, who now trail the Dutch by eight points after four games.

Arsenal forward Robin van Persie was largely ineffective during the game  and other than his goal,  the Dutchman rarely threatened Scotland’s defence. A head injury was sustained, but it is said to be minor.

Aaron Ramsey – Wales 0-2 Finland

Wales’ World Cup dreams were dealt a savage blow at the Millennium Stadium as they slipped to a defeat to Finland.

This was the day when the bright, new generation of Welsh kids was taught a lesson by the 30-somethings of Finland, who in the end comfortably won this Group Four qualifier.

Old hands like Sami Hyypia and Jari Litmanen dominated the game. Litmanen created the first Finnish goal for another near veteran, former Charlton forward Jonatan Johansson, three minutes from the break.

And it was 33-year-old substitute Shefki Kuqi who grabbed the second a minute from the end to confirm Wales’ fate.

Aaron Ramsey came on for David Edwards in the 56th minute and failed to adapt to the game.

Andrey Arshavin – Russia 2-0 Azerbaijan

Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored one and created another as Russia recorded a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan.

The match was Hiddink’s first in charge of Russia since combining the role with that of Chelsea manager, and his side did what was required of them against the group minnows without ever really excelling.

The first half was an underwhelming spectacle, with Russia struggling to assert themselves and Azerbaijan unable to offer anything but a succession of wild and speculative long-range shots.

Andrey Arshavin went close for Russia in the third minute, capitalising on some shaky Azerbaijan defending only to shoot straight at goalkeeper Farkhad Veliyev.

Johan Djourou – Moldova 0-2 Switzerland

Switzerland moved level on points with World Cup Qualifying Group Two leaders Greece after victory over minnows Moldova, but they were made to sweat in the second half.

Goals from captain Alexander Frei and substitute Gelson Fernandes moved Switzerland on to 10 points, the same total as Greece after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Israel.

Arsenal defender Johan Djourou replaced Tranquillo Barnetta in the dying seconds of the game.

Nicklas Bendtner – Malta 0-3 Denmark

Toulouse striker Soren Larsen scored twice as Denmark shut out Malta 3-0 Saturday to stay atop its World Cup qualifying group.

Larsen found the target in the 12th and 23rd minutes, and Morten Nordstrand added another score in the 89th, seven minutes after replacing Larsen.

Denmark has 10 points to top Group 1 of European qualifying, while Malta is last with one point.

Nicklas Bendtner played the full 90 minutes and found himself unfortunate to not have bagged at least a couple of goals.

There’s little news going around today, so here is video of Arsenal forward Robin van Persie speaking about the team’s experience of handling pressure during the Gunners’ race with Aston Villa for a Champions League spot.

With thanks to GunnerDudeVlog for the video.

Today’s News In Brief:

Cesc Fabregas’ father has insisted that his son is happy at Arsenal, but that he could fit in alongside Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona. (Sky Sports)

Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky hopes to be able to make some sort of contribution to the Gunners’ cause before the end of the campaign. (Team Talk)

Finally, AC Milan are no longer interested in prising Emmanuel Adebayor away from Arsenal according to the agent who tried to broker a deal between the two clubs last summer. (Setanta Sports)

Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri has stated that he enjoys the ‘face-to-face’ action of the defensive midfield position – where he has already played for the Gunners this season.

The 21-year-old former Marseille star was mooted to become Alexander Hleb’s replacement after arriving following a high-profile transfer saga last summer.

Nasri has certainly chipped in with the goals that Hleb didn’t have, but even more so, he has also shown versatility which he now plans to bring onto the International stage for France.

“I have already played in this position [defensive midfield] with Arsenal. Sometimes I move to this role when we have to keep a 0-0.”

“I am not against playing in a more defensive role. I quite like it – you start from far away and you are face-to-face with the action.

“Is it exhausting to work from box to box? It depends with who you are playing with. Flamini and Fabregas were complementary with Arsenal last year.”

He then praised Arsenal and dubbed himself a ’starter’ after his magnificent form for Arsene Wenger’s side recently.

“Today I am a happy man,” he added. “I am playing my football at a great club, I am considered a starter and am called up every time.

“I will break into the [France] starting line-up thanks to my performances.”

Gooner Talk will keep you updated with all the latest goings on concerning International matches and players involved in this weekend’s games – stay tuned!

‘Impossible Is Nothing’ Adidas commercial spoof featuring Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor.

Thanks to ArminRVP for the video.

He’s famous for developing Arsenal youngsters into world-beating stars, but here’s a picture from this week’s edition of L’Equipe in which Arsene Wenger stars on the front cover as a little toddler!

Inside the French daily mag, there is an interview with his family about his life as well as his playing career.

Unbelievably, Louise Wenger (Arsene’s Mum), revealed that she convinced her son to pursue a coaching career instead of the medical area which Arsene’s Dad hoped he would become!

“My husband wanted Arsene to be a doctor. Arsene called me into his room. He did not want to [be a Doctor]. I said, I feel that you have the football in your mind. Okay I will convince Dad that you can not do medicine, but only if you have something else in hand. “

“He had his degree in economics. Because I had not?

There are more quotes – thanks to Vince from ASCFR – that we’ll add later in the week.

Check it the internet edition of the mag here (in French)

Arsenal frontman Emmanuel Adebayor has been named in Togo’s squad for the World Cup qualifier against Cameroon on Saturday, six weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old African Player of the Year has been mooted to play a small part in this weekend’s match, and he could come up against fellow Gunners team-mate Alex Song if selected.

Ade is expected to make his Arsenal return next Saturday against Manchester City, while skipper Cesc Fabregas has also been pencilled in to play.

You can see the full squad, here.

In other news, Arsenal’s top scorer Robin van Persie is up for the PFA Fans Player of the Month for March.

The Dutchman has 16 goals to his name this season, and capped the month with two assists in the 3-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday.

Players Up For Award

Didier Drogba – Chelsea
Aaron Lennon – Tottenham
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester Utd
Fernando Torres – Liverpool
Robin Van Persie – Arsenal

Click here to vote.