Now past the midway point of the September break, let’s have a look at how Arsenal’s internationals are getting on with their countries.
Arsenal saw 16 players and three loanees called up for the September international break, including a first Albania call-up for Maldini Kacurri, and involvement for summer signings Piero Hincapie, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, and Viktor Gyokeres.
Cristhian Mosquera and Ethan Nwaneri are with the Spain and England u21 teams respectively, William Saliba was initially called up but subsequently withdrew through injury, and Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Christian Norgaard are also injured this time around.
So far Mikel Merino has been the standout performer with four goals in two games, but there’s also been a goal for Declan Rice, assists for Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres, and clean sheets for defences including Gabriel Magalhaes, Piero Hincapie, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Riccardo Calafiori.
Noni Madueke was also praised for his performance against Andorra, despite being denied an official goal or assist for his role in the opening goal – where his cross was turned in by an Andorra defender for an own goal. Let’s look at the full September international breakdown by match.
Arsenal international September fixtures & results
Times in BST
Thursday, September 4th
- Gibraltar 0-1 Albania (Friendly) – Kacurri played 90 minutes on his debut and helped Albania to keep a clean sheet.
- Norway 1-0 Finland (Friendly) – Odegaard played 45 minutes for Norway, and there was no suggestion of an injury setback as he was one of many players withdrawn at half-time of the friendly match.
- Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium (World Cup qualifier) – Trossard played 23 minutes as a substitute for Belgium.
- Netherlands 1-1 Poland (World Cup qualifier) – Timber remained on the bench for the Netherlands, Kiwior played 90 minutes for Poland.
- Bulgaria 0-3 Spain (World Cup qualifier) – Merino scored and played 90 minutes and Zubimendi provided an assist and played 62 minutes for Spain, but Raya was on the bench.
Friday, September 5th
- Paraguay 0-0 Ecuador (World Cup qualifier) – Hincapie played 90 minutes and helped Ecuador to keep a clean sheet.
- Brazil 3-0 Chile (World Cup qualifier) – Gabriel played 90 minutes and helped Brazil to keep a clean sheet, with Martinelli also played 71 minutes.
- Italy 5-0 Estonia (World Cup qualifier) – Hein played 90 minutes for Estonia and made eight saves despite conceding five goals, whilst Calafiori completed 90 minutes for the opposition and helped his team to a clean-sheet victory.
- Slovenia 2-2 Sweden (World Cup qualifier) – Gyokeres played 90 minutes and provided an assist for Sweden.
- Ukraine 0-2 France (World Cup qualifier) – Zinchenko played 87 minutes for Ukraine, Saliba obviously wasn’t involved after his withdrawal through injury.
Saturday, September 6th
- England 2-0 Andorra (World Cup qualifier) – Madueke played 90 minutes and forced Andorra into an own goal with a cross to open the scoring. Rice played 68 minutes and scored the second goal of the game. Lewis-Skelly played 90 minutes and helped England keep a clean sheet. Eze also featured for 78 minutes.
Sunday, September 7th
- Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands (World Cup qualifier) – Timber came on as a substitute for the Netherlands for 28 minutes.
- Belgium 6-0 Kazakhstan (World Cup qualifier) – Trossard played 63 minutes as a starter for Belgium.
- Turkey 0-6 Spain (World Cup qualifier) – Merino scored a hat-trick and played the full 90 whilst Zubimendi played 73 minutes for Spain. Raya was on the bench again.
- Poland 3-1 Finland (World Cup qualifier) – Kiwior played another 90 minutes for Poland.
Monday, September 8th
- 19:45 – Israel vs Italy (World Cup qualifier)
- 19:45 – Kosovo vs Sweden (World Cup qualifier)
Tuesday, September 9th
- 17:00 – Azerbaijan vs Ukraine (World Cup qualifier)
- 17:00 – Estonia vs Andorra (World Cup qualifier
- 19:45 – Albania vs Latvia (World Cup qualifier)
- 19:45 – Serbia vs England (World Cup qualifier)
- 19:45 – Norway vs Moldova (World Cup qualifier)
Wednesday, September 10th
- 00:00 – Ecuador vs Argentina (World Cup qualifier)
- 00:30 – Bolivia vs Brazil (World Cup qualifier)
Arsenal call-ups for the September international break
Maldini Kacurri (Albania), Leandro Trossard (Belgium), Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil), Piero Hincapie (Ecuador), Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Myles Lewis-Skelly (England), Riccardo Calafiori (Italy), Jurrien Timber (Netherlands), Martin Odegaard (Norway), David Raya, Mikel Merino, and Martin Zubimendi (Spain), and Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden).
Loanees
Jakub Kiwior (Poland), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine), and Karl Hein (Estonia).