Two weeks off and Arsenal's non-international players have started their preparations for the return of Premier League football. The Gunners face West Ham United on Boxing Day and will play four winter friendlies before their title charge resumes.
The likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Rob Holding all returned from their holidays but there were noticeable figures missing. football.london understands that the club are staggering the return of the players, but some have opted to cut their time off short.
Players were afforded 10 days off but football.london understands some waived the full period in favour of getting back to the action sooner. Martin Odegaard, Fabio Vieira and Kieran Tierney all featured for their country and are yet to return.
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Arsenal will play Watford, Lyon, AC Milan and Juventus before they return to Premier League football. After the friendly against Slaven Bilic's side, the club will fly out to Dubai on Sunday. The friendly against Juventus on December 17, the day before the World Cup final, might present the first opportunity to see players back with the Gunners.
Reports this week have suggested the behind-closed-door friendly against Watford will take place during the week commencing November 28. However, football.london understands that an exact date is yet to be fully agreed upon between the clubs.
Ahead of the friendly fixtures, Arsenal assistant coach Carlos Cuesta took to Instagram to post a short message upon his and the coaching staff's return to work. He wrote: "Here we go again."
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