Arsenal have played their final competitive fixture for six weeks and many of those not selected for World Cup duty are currently enjoying a break to recuperate from a busy start to the season.
It's already been confirmed that as many as 10 members of Mikel Arteta's senior squad will be in action in Qatar with the tournament kicking off on Sunday, but what might have slipped under the radar are those friendlies taking place across the globe as Martin Odegaard, Kieran Tierney and Fabio Vieira have been called up by their respective nations.
Of course, the dream scenario for the Arsenal manager is that every single one of his players come through this international window unscathed as his side has gone into the break five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and will want to hit the ground running when the campaign resumes on Boxing Day.
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Before welcoming West Ham United to the Emirates Stadium on December 26, the Gunners have a planned warm-weather training camp in Dubai as well as four fixtures - including games against Lyon and AC Milan - in the pipeline to ensure players don't lose any sharpness.
Overall, though, whether this break comes at a perfect time for Arteta remains to be seen but the Spaniard will be able to do extra work on the training pitch with as many as 13 first-team players and perhaps welcome one back from injury while he can also call up a number of the club's promising youngsters.
Interestingly, this group will feature only one of the Gunners' three senior goalkeepers as Aaron Ramsdale and Matt Turner have been called up by England and USA respectively, which leaves Karl Hein. In addition, central defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding will also be around.
Elsewhere, Portuguese full-back Cedric Soares will have a chance to earn some minutes having barely featured so far this season, whilst the battle at left-back will continue between Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko as both Scotland and Ukraine failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Emile Smith Rowe is pencilled in for a return to training in December following groin surgery, whilst once Odegaard and Vieira complete their international commitments they can join Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny as the other available midfielders.
Arsenal's forward line has slightly been affected with Brazil deciding to select Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli in their World Cup squad, so Arteta will need to call up a few youngsters to train alongside Marquinhos, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson during the break.
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