We're now into the second round of fixtures from the November international break and it's a case of so far so good for Arsenal ahead of the return of Premier League action this weekend.

All but two of the 16 senior players - currently at the club - that were selected have been in action for their respective nations over the past week with some contrasting experiences for many as Euro 2024 plus 2026 World Cup qualifiers and those all-important friendlies have taken centre stage.

Kai Havertz operated at left-back and scored in Germany's 3-2 defeat by Turkey, Jorginho missed a penalty as Italy beat North Macedonia, Bukayo Saka claimed an assist for Harry Kane as England beat Malta and Gabriel Martinelli scored his first goal for Brazil, although it ended in a loss to Colombia.

They, along with Aaron Ramsdale, Declan Rice, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Jesus could be in action over the next couple of days, so naturally, Mikel Arteta will have his fingers crossed that his Arsenal stars come through unscathed.

Having said that, the good news for the Gunners boss is four of his players should have begun the process of returning to London Colney, if they've not done so already, ahead of Saturday's clash against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

This is because Leandro Trossard, Mohamed Elneny, David Raya and Karl Hein have completed their international commitments with Belgium, Egypt, Spain and Estonia respectively. And with no injuries reported, it would appear they will all be available for selection against the Bees.

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Of course, as per Premier League rules, Raya is ineligible for the London derby as he cannot face his parent club and that's likely to result in Hein being included in the matchday squad with Ramsdale expected to start his first game in the competition since before the September international break.

Although Brazil are in World Cup qualification action against Argentina in Rio de Janeiro in the early hours on Wednesday (UK time) and this means Gabriel, Martinelli and Jesus are set to be affected by the scheduling.

Regardless of whether any of the trio feature in the World Cup qualifier, the long journey back to England in addition to being among the last to return from international duty will take its toll and they will not have the luxury of an extra day's rest ahead of the London derby.

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Mikel Arteta celebrates Arsenal's recent Premier League victory over Manchester City

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