Mikel Arteta will be watching the international break with baited breath as his Arsenal stars set about their final hurdle before the true sprint finish in the Premier League. With just 10 games to go the title is theirs to lose and a commanding eight point gap over Manchester City gives them a buffer to play with too.
Pep Guardiola's men do have a game in hand to cut the gap back down to five points but even that has been the distance between them for much of the year. Only a momentary blip appeared to cause much fright on that front.
Now things are approaching the appropriately-coined 'squeaky bum time' and every small decision across matches will have a massive impact on what happens to the league. For Arteta, the two-week break could have come at a better time.
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Arsenal were fresh off the back of a 4-1 win and have scored three or more in five of their last six league games. The period away for the players also means more minutes in the legs of first team stars in action for their country.
He will have been fearful for Bukayo Saka, who was kicked around the park in Naples for England on Thursday. Although if it's any consolation, it's little different to the treatment he already gets for his club. The star winger lasted until midway into the second half and appeared to be unscathed but Arteta would surely prefer for Saka to have less of a role against Ukraine on Sunday.
One player that didn't even get as far as playing for his country is William Saliba. The dominant defender was taken off against Sporting CP in the Europa League last week before missing the win over Crystal Palace. Having been named in Didier Deschamps' France side he has since been withdrawn.
"We hope Willy [Saliba] is going to be better news," Arteta said last week. "Again, we have to wait to tomorrow to get a better picture." There are worries that he could yet face months out with a back injury.
Saliba is joined in recovery by fellow youngster Eddie Nketiah, who suffered an ankle injury before the break too, football.london understands. Nketiah has shone for the Gunners when called upon this season and played back-up for Gabriel Jesus during an important phase of the season.
Nketiah posted on social media to update fans, writing: "Grafting! *muscle emoji* #SoonBack." He then added another image to his Instagram story with the caption: "Rehab crew, monster mentality *brain emoji* *finger point emoji*."
Arteta was optimistic of his return as well, saying: "He’s getting better. He’s still in the boot. He’s still a few weeks away and we need to be patient. It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he’s not in a bad place."
The Gunners are without two players for the foreseeable future though as Takehiro Tomiyasu was ruled out for the rest of the season. A statement from the club reads: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Elsewhere midfielder Mohamed Elneny is still out with a long-term knee injury. It is Leeds next up for Arsenal.
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