Arsenal jinx, Torres rubbish, listen to Keane: 10 things we’ve learned from Euro 2012 so far

2) Roy Keane can't start a sentence without using the word “listen”
Listen, if Roy Keane's talking about football, he simply can't start his analysis without imploring us to hear what he's saying. Listen, you need to prick up your ears and pay attention to Mr Keane; especially you Adrian Chiles. Listen, he doesn't take kindly to your attempts at injecting light-hearted observations into what the Irishman clearly considers a very serious business. Listen, who needs the tellybox pundits anyway, when you've got talkSPORT's 24/7 coverage of the Euros?

3) We must continue to expect the worst from England
Listen (sorry, we've slipped into Roy Keane mode), if you're an England fan it's been a revelation expecting sod all from the Three Lions. Roy Hodgson's team drew 1-1 with an unspectacularly solid performance, but didn't it feel good? The glass is undoubtedly half full for most of the media and fans, however, the danger is always that the mood will lurch from outright pessimism to that old favourite, deluded optimism. It's time to take on board this fact: in seven competitive matches against Sweden, England have NEVER won, despite all the pundits trotting out the 'England should beat Sweden' lines. Let's keep expecting the worst and see where it gets us!

4) Arsenal are a Euro 2012 jinx
Gunner Wojciech Szczesny gave away a cheap goal, a cheap penalty and was sent off. Meanwhile, his Arsenal team-mate and Poland back-up 'keeper Lukasz Fabianski didn't even make it to the tournament, missing out on his chance to step up after suffering an eve of tournament injury. Tomas Rosicky didn't get a kick as the Czechs were thrashed by Russia, who were inspired by Arsenal reject Andrey Arshavin. Then there was Premier League top scorer Robin Van Persie, who failed in front of goal as Nicklas Bendtner's Denmark shocked Holland. Lukas Podolski's main contribution to Germany was a free-kick ballooned over the bar, while Per Mertesacker didn't even start. So far, the Gunners' main success at the Euros has been the Ox, who gave an assured, if unspectacular performance after being surprisingly picked by Roy Hodgson. Even then, Oxlade-Chamberlain's inclusion served to highlight how disappointing Theo Walcott has been, to the point where his inexperienced 18-year-old club mate is now a more viable option for England.

5) England matches are so much better without that bloody band
Like Mr Blobby, the England supporters band were a novelty for five minutes back in the 1990s and really should have stayed there. We love The Great Escape, but not after it's been played for the 10th time during the match by Harold Bishop's brass band brigade. Plus, the fact that this mob provided the soundtrack for England's utterly disappointing 'Golden Generation' means that their tunes, sadly, are connected with the stench of England failure. Watching the Three Lions surpass expectations against France, by contrast, all without a Pukka Pies-sponsored musical ensemble belting out 'England 'til I Die', seems like more than mere coincidence. The bad news is that it seems UEFA will let them back in for the Sweden game.

6) Patrice Evra is a sore, er, drawer
“We played much better than England,” claimed the French full-back after the 1-1 draw between his team and the Three Lions. “They played in the way that Chelsea played against Barcelona.” England may have defended well, but it wasn't quite the siege Patrice Evra believes it was. While Barcelona missed a hatful of glorious chances against Chelsea, France were reduced to having pop shots from distance. Oh, and John Terry didn't knee anyone in the back this time.

7) You can read 'War and Peace' while Balotelli prepares to shoot
Praise Prandelli that the Italians selected Mario Balotelli for Euro 2012, because the Man City striker never fails to entertain. Clean through on goal against Spain, Mario took an eternity to pull the trigger, like a PlayStation player who's suddenly become immobile after the controller's been accidentally switched off. In the time it took the Italian to tee up for a shot, you could've bought a ticket for the match, flown over to Poland and taken your seat just in time to see Sergio Ramos slide in and take the ball.

8) Joe Hart knows a bargain
Forget all that fancy, technically advanced sports gear, because England 'keeper Joe Hart appears to favour wearing a bog standard V-neck tee from Topman under his goalie top, as sported in his immediate post-match interview alongside Joleon Lescott. And who can blame Joe, when they're priced at a reasonable £7, or two for 12 quid.