There were plenty of ups and downs for many members of the Arsenal loan army as some were still in action over the weekend as the World Cup break does not affect every single club in Europe.
With the Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Eredivisie, Serie A, the Scottish Premier League and the Turkish Super Lig all stopping temporarily, it meant there were no domestic fixtures for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Folarin Balogun, Ryan Alebiosu, Mika Biereth or Omar Rekik . Pablo Mari is still recovering after being discharged from the hospital following surgery to reconstruct damaged back muscles after being injured in a supermarket stabbing in Milan last month.
Although, as international matches outside of the World Cup have taken place over the past week, Alex Runarsson earned another cap for Iceland, Nicolas Pepe scored for Ivory Coast against Burundi, and Nuno Tavares claimed an assist in a 5-1 win for Portugal U21s over their Czech Republic counterparts.
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Meanwhile, as the Championship is on a break until early December, Auston Trusty, Salah-Eddine and Harry Clarke weren't in action. Both Charlie Patino and Brooke Norton-Cuffy returned to London Colney briefly to use Arsenal's facilities to remain sharp ahead of the restart.
As already revealed by Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, striker Tyreece John-Jules has a hamstring injury and is under specialist review regarding whether he requires surgery. So it's no surprise that he played no part in their 2-0 win over Exeter City.
With that said, as there is no break for teams in League One, Arthur Okonkwo was able to celebrate a third straight clean sheet as Crewe Alexandra beat Swindon Town 1-0. Mazeed Ogungbo was once again left out of the Crawley Town squad as Walsall beat them on Saturday.
In the National League, Tom Smith was involved in a five-goal thriller as Bromley beat Dorking Wanderers and Tim Akinola came off the bench as Chesterfield beat Solihull Moors to remain six points behind leaders Wrexham. Ovie Ejeheri started Chelmsford City's FA Cup replay defeat by Barnet last Monday but was left out of the starting line-up for the FA Trophy victory against Redditch United at the weekend.
North of the border, it was a mixed afternoon for Alex Kirk as he set up Dipo Akinyemi's goal, which looked to have sealed victory for Ayr United away at Inverness, only for the hosts to equalise with three minutes remaining before being stretchered off in added on time with an ankle injury.
Once hailed as the 'next Zlatan Ibrahimovic', Nikolaj Moller scored twice for Den Bosch in a 4-4 draw with Jong Ajax last Monday but drew a blank five days later in a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of VVV Venlo.
Miguel Azeez was an unused substitute as Ibiza lost 1-0 at Villarreal in the Segunda Division. Marcelo Flores didn't feature for Real Oviedo either, but his side conceded an equaliser in the third minute of injury time to draw 1-1 with Ponferradina as they sit three points clear of the relegation zone.
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