Arsenal will be thankful that the international break provides a chance for players to recuperate ahead of Bournemouth in the first came back.
Arsenal are battling a number of injury problems over the international break, with several key players set to miss their country’s fixtures over the next fortnight.
The Gunners have been handed concern over Saturday goalscorer Kai Havertz, who will miss Germany’s Nations League matches due to knee problems discovered following the 3-1 win over Southampton, having played the full 90 minutes. The severity of the setback is unknown.
Ben White and Jurrien Timber both missed the win over the Saints due to issues, although Mikel Arteta indicated pre-match that their omissions would be a close call. Timber has nevertheless been left out of this window’s Netherlands squad, while White’s self-exile from England duty is thought to be continuing under interim boss Lee Carsley.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected back from his leg issue after the international break but will not be representing Ukraine as he works back to full fitness. Kieran Tierney’s long-term hamstring injury sustained during this summer’s European Championships similarly rules him out of Scotland duty.
Meanwhile, a number of Arsenal teammates have been simply left unpicked despite no injury concerns. Jorginho is still struggling to get back into the Italy squad following Euro 2024, while Gabriel Jesus has not played for Brazil in almost a year.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s absence from Japan’s roster is thought to be due to his recent return from injury, having made his first appearance of the season in his late cameo against Southampton. He had been nursing a knee injury picked up in pre-season.
Of course, Martin Odegaard will not join up with Norway due to his ankle ligament setback sustained during the last international break. The Arsenal captain gave an encouraging update on his recovery over the weekend, suggesting his problem is not as bad as first feared.
Writing in his matchday programme notes, he said: “In the last week or so I’ve made really good progress. I’m getting better and better by the day and feel it’s going well.
“When you feel like things are moving forward, it gives you motivation to do more and more, and work harder. Hopefully it won’t be much longer; I think we will know more as soon as I get out on the training pitches and we see how my ankle responds to that.
“At the moment it’s progressing well and it looks better than we were thinking, but we’ve still got to take every day as it comes.”
