Well this is some very interesting news. Brek Shea has been called up to the US Men's National Team Squad for the European friendlies at France on November 11 and at Slovenia, November 15th.

The groundbreaking news in the FC Dallas release, however, is the news that after his time with the national team, Shea will head to London to train with English giants Arsenal FC as a guest before returning to Dallas where 2012 pre-season will start on January 15.

"Brek matured as a player and as a leader on the field this past season. It was a career year for him," said FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman. "He consolidated himself as one of the top players in MLS and solidified his role with the U.S. National Team. Affording Brek the opportunity to continue to work on improving his game and measure himself among the best players in the world is something we are all excited about. It’s a winning situation for Brek, FC Dallas and the U.S. team, as the extra training time will help push his game to the next level."

For me, this is really great news for all sides. There's plenty of speculation that Shea will be sold this winter, speculation I don't agree with, and this training stint will expose Shea to the level he needs to get to in order to make it on the international stage.

It's a way for Dallas to give Shea some exposure to a Champions League club, while likely ensuring that Shea stays with Dallas through next season. Great news and congratulations to Brek!

Read on for the full press release with a quote form Doug Quinn