Arsenal have a whole host of stars away on international duty this week as fans watch from behind the sofa in the hopes their squad returns to north London free of injuries, and one fan favourite will be coming away from national team duty with a spring in his step.
Arsenal players away on international duty
Mikel Arteta is already without Mikel Merino and Declan Rice in midfield for the north London derby against Tottenham, so will be praying his midfielders in particular return to London Colney in one piece.
On that note, Bukayo Saka featured for England as the Three Lions cruised past the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Dublin on Saturday, and the winger was on the recieiving end of a couple of nasty tackles from Robbie Brady, but came away unscathed.
Martin Odegaard’s Norway meanwhile face off against Kazakstan and Austria, the former of which resulted in a disappointing 0-0 draw in which the skipper played the full 90 minutes.
Thomas Partey’s Ghana are in 2025 AFCON qualifiying action, as the 31 year-old played the full game in a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Angola last Thursday, with a chance to redeem themselves on Monday against Niger.
The standout result from this international break from a Gunners perspective is undoubtedly what Kai Havertz and Germany produced this weekend, crushing Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary 5-0 in a Nations League group match, as Arsenal's 25 year-old found himself in a new role and shone.
German media praise Havertz in new number ten role
While his finishing left a little to be desired – the former Chelsea star missed two "big chances" and hit the woodwork twice – he did get on the scoresheet from the penalty spot, and it was his general play as a number ten that earned him praise from the press in his homeland.
As shared by TBR Football, Frankfurter Rundschau said Havertz's general performance was "world class" outside of his inability to finish his chances, while Sky Germany praised his "good movement" and "good ideas".
Pass accuracy
92 per cent
Shots total
Four
Big chances missed
Two
Penalties won
One
Duels won
Seven
Fouls drawn
Five
Havertz, of course, has been forced to make the striker role his own in north London after they neglected to sign an out and out centre-forward, and has also shone for Arteta in a left centre-mid role, but featured here as a true number playmaker, sitting just behind West Ham target man Niclas Füllkrug.
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Whether Arteta ever chooses to adopt a slightly different system than his usual 4-3-3 in order to fit Havertz into this playmaker role remains to be seen, but having a player so full of confidence thriving in a variety of positions can only be a good thing for the manager ahead of such a huge clash against rivals Spurs.