What started out as a 10-man group representing Arsenal at the 2022 World Cup is now a quartet for one reason or another following events over the past week.
Thomas Partey and Matt Turner were the first two Gunners players to be eliminated from the tournament whilst a knee injury has resulted in Gabriel Jesus returning home earlier than he would have expected and Ben White left the England camp for personal reasons.
This week has seen Takehiro Tomiyasu take Japan's penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Croatia very badly with the versatile Arsenal defender delivering a brutal assessment of his own performance as well as suggesting he needs time to "forget about football".
READ MORE: Thomas Partey replacement not forthcoming for Arsenal this January as Edu considers targets
"Of course, we are so disappointed with the result," he said. "My performance was a disaster today, so I am sorry for the team. I just need to be much, much better to help the team. It was not enough and also for the team, we did not deserve to win. We were so close to achieving our aim. They were better than us."
One Arsenal player who is keen to get back to work as soon as possible is Granit Xhaka after Switzerland were thrashed 6-1 by Portugal in the final round of 16 tie on Tuesday night: "Of course, emotionally it is not easy. But this is part of our business, part of football," he told the Evening Standard. "You have to recover well. The Premier League is waiting and, of course, I wanted to be here longer than this.
"But we lost the game today and I am happy to go back now with the team. I have something to achieve there, and I know the team is in Dubai at the moment doing the pre-season. I'm flying back to Dubai, going back to the team, and going back to the training and trying to forget the tournament now."
So the final four Arsenal players standing at the 2022 World Cup are Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli. Interestingly with England facing France in the quarter-final at the weekend, at least one Gunners star is guaranteed to reach the semi-final next week.
Of the quartet, Ramsdale is yet to play a single minute for the Three Lions and whilst Saliba has only made one substitute appearance thus far, he has been part of a France squad that managed to break the 24-year World Cup winners' curse by avoiding elimination at the group stage.
Martinelli earned rave reviews from the Brazilian media for his performance in the 1-0 loss against Cameroon, but there's no question that Saka has been Arsenal's standout performer in Qatar. Two goals on his World Cup debut and a wonderful finish in the 3-0 win over Senegal means the winger is in contention for the Golden Boot - although he is two behind Kylian Mbappe which adds even more intrigue to this weekend's clash.
Perhaps the icing on the cake for some Gunners fans with regard to Saka - aside from lifting the trophy - is to play the role of a secret agent and convince England teammate Jude Bellingham, who has been one of the standout players at the tournament, to complete a move to the Emirates Stadium.
READ NEXT:
Why Arsenal and England hero Bukayo Saka should win 2022 Fans' Footballer of the Year award
Barcelona 'monitoring' Arsenal star at World Cup as Mykhaylo Mudryk sends £40m transfer hint
Arsenal can revisit stunning £53m transfer masterstroke as Lyon make Houssem Aouar announcement
Thomas Partey replacement not forthcoming for Arsenal this January as Edu considers targets
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
