This year's November international break is one like nothing before.
Instead of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta being without a number of first-team players for at least a fortnight due to qualifiers or friendlies, he is losing 10 - for potentially six weeks in some cases - to the World Cup which is taking place in the winter months because of the intense heat in host nation Qatar around summertime.
There is an argument that the pause in the season has come at the worst possible time for the Gunners considering they only opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table last weekend amid concerns all momentum could be lost when action resumes on Boxing Day.
