The international break is now over and Arsenal stars will now return to London Colney. The Gunners have had multiple players jet across the world to represent their nations in the final break before the end of the season.
With so much still to play for in the Premier League title race, there would have been a hope of avoiding any injuries. Arsenal are already without Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny for the remainder of the season and additional injuries to the first team would be hard to deal with.
When asked about the message he would give to his players over the international break, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: "That they really look after themselves in this period. We will look after the players that are with us here. That they come back with the same mindset and hunger from before to go into Leeds, which is the only important game right now. We know it."
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Following Tuesday's fixtures, the final ones of the international break, football.london takes a look at the winners and losers of the international break ahead of the return of Premier League football this weekend.
Winners
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal's star player carried his domestic form onto the international stage. Saka started both of England's games against Italy and Ukraine in the Three Lions' 2024 Euro Qualifiers and certainly impressed.
In Naples last week, the 21-year-old was on the receiving end of a number of reckless challenges from the Italian defence as the likes of Leonardo Spinazzola and Fracesco Acerbi tried to deal with Saka.
Three days later, Saka was Man of the Match against Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ukraine after scoring a sensational goal following a neat assist for Harry Kane's opener. He walked off the Wembley Stadium pitch injury-free and ready to play his part in the title race.
Granit Xhaka
Midfielder Xhaka was granted no time to rest throughout the break with Switzerland boss Murat Yakin starting in him in both games against Belarus and Israel. On Saturday, the 30 year-old was impressive in a 5-0 win with a goal and assist before being replaced in the 66th minute.
The Arsenal star partnered Chelsea's Denis Zakaria and Nottingham Forest's Remo Freuler in a midfield trio. He would have been named Man of the Match if it wasn't for Lugano playmaker Renato Steffen netting a 29-minute hat-trick against Belarus.
Emile Smith Rowe
After nearly four years of pain, Smith Rowe declared himself fully fit and ready to play a part in Arsenal's title chase whil on England Under-21s duty. The Hale Ender was handed his first start of the season on Saturday against France and scored in a convincing 4-0 win.
He played 66 minutes at the King Power Stadium before stating his ambitions for the rest of the season. "Obviously my aim is to get back into the Arsenal team," he said.
"I'm desperate to be playing because the team are doing really well and it's something I want to be a part of. For me, I've got to stay fit now for when the manager needs me. I know the team is on fire and they're doing really well."
Losers
Thomas Partey
After previously suffering with a couple of minor knocks earlier in the season, Partey's fitness was something that would have been on the minds of many Arsenal fans ahead of the international break. The midfielder was named in Chris Hughton's squad for Ghana's AFCON qualifiers against Angola - but only featured in one.
Partey played the full 90 minutes in the Black Stars' home win over Angola but missed the return fixture on Monday as a precaution. Despite obvious fears over his fitness, Hughton eased any worries by insisting there were only "some small issues".
Arsenal physio, Simon Murphy, was sent to Ghana with the 29 year-old to ensure the defensive midfield avoids any unnecessary knocks. Fingers will be crossed for the remainder of the week that Partey is able to feature against Leeds on Saturday.
Jorginho
Of all the players who linked up with their international teammates, Jorginho was possibly the only one who failed to put in a good performance. The former Chelsea man started for Italy in the 2-1 defeat to England but was replaced in the 69th minute after receiving a booking.
Roberto Mancini's midfield trio - Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Nicolo Barella - were all subsequently replaced in the second half after losing the midfield battle to Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.
Jorginho was dropped for their trip to Malta and was an unused substitute as Italy ran-out 2-0 winners.
Rodri
Manchester City's Rodri deserves a mention. The midfielder came up against Odegaard and Norway on Saturday evening in a comfortable 3-0 win for Luis de la Fuente's side.
However, it wasn't the Spainard's performance that left Arsenal supporters raging. After attempting a shot inside Spain's box, Odegaard was on the receiving end of a horror tackle from Rodri, leaving him in pain holding his ankle.
Fortunately for Arsenal, Odegaard played 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Georgia but fans were left fuming at Rodri's challenge.
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