Arsenal sources have indicated that at least some of the club’s international withdrawals have been precautionary, according to a report.
Many of Arsenal’s 10 international withdrawals this month have been celebrated by the club’s supporters, with fans believing the players have voluntarily opted to protect their fitness rather than playing in meaningless friendly matches.
But the mood could quickly sour if it turns out many of those 10 players are set for extended injury absences, with reports already confirming that Eberechi Eze will be out for a few weeks, and that Noni Madueke is unlikely to be fit to face Southampton this weekend.
Whether Arsenal’s other internationals have made sensible choices to protect their fitness or whether the Gunners are set for a major injury crisis is the big question ahead of the return of club football.
James Benge reports for CBS Sports that Arsenal are currently carrying out assessments on all their withdrawn players, and the good news is that club sources have acknowledged that at least some of the player absences are precautionary.
But Benge adds that Arsenal can’t make the decision to withdraw any individual player on their own, and it’s up to the national team themelves to make the call. So there’s clearly at least something to the various fitness concerns.
At the end of the day, it’s in the interests of both Arsenal and the respective national teams to make decisions that lower the risk of injury setbacks. We’re only a little over two months away from the World Cup, and that will be at the forefront of most national team manager’s minds.
It’s not really surprising that so many of Arsenal’s players are suffering in one way or another.
The team have played almost every single game they could have over the last eight months, only missing out on the Champions League knockout play-off round. Even then, Arsenal used one of those free midweeks to play a rescheduled Premier League game away to Wolves.
At this point in the season, it’s inevitable that fatigue will start to set in, so it’s not surprising that medical assessments of Arsenal’s internationals have shown that.
The fans can only hope that getting this week off will do many of those players some good. Then we’ll find out on Saturday which players are actually out.