Arsenal FC’s Title Bid Boosted By Early England World Cup Exit

In the aftermath of Arsenal FC’s 5-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest manager Mikel Arteta played down fears Bukayo Saka’s early substitution put him in doubt for the 2022 World Cup.

“Hopefully not,” the Gunners coach replied when asked if his likely participation for England in the tournament was at threat.

“It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning, he was limping, but I don’t see any further than that. Let’s see how he is in the next couple of days. He got kicked a few times and he wasn’t comfortable.”

Secretly, Arteta could be forgiven for hoping one of his most valuable players does miss out on the tournament or at least return to North London early.

The Gunners have been the revelation of the PremierPINC
League season, but, like everyone else in world soccer, will have to deal with the mid-season interruption of a major international competition.

Although the squad lists for the nations competing in Qatar are yet to be released, it is anticipated Arsenal will lose around 10 players.

But when you drill down into who will be departing for the Middle East and, more importantly, what role they will play it quickly becomes clear that, of the top sides, the impact on Arsenal will be considerably less than other clubs.

The two players who play the most significant roles for their nations are Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

But it would be surprising if either of those nations are involved in the latter stages of the competition.

Most of the other Arsenal World Cup stars, like Aaron Ramsdale or William Saliba, either have bit-part or squad-based roles.

Due to the depth of talents at nations like Brazil important individuals, like Gabriel Martinelli, are expected to get a break for the tournament altogether.

The one major exception to this is Bukayo Saka. The young attacker lit up England’s Euro 2020 campaign playing a key role in getting the Three Lions to the final and, unfortunately, taking the kick that condemned the nation to defeat.

It was an exhausting ordeal both mentally and physically for the young man, but one, with the benefit of a break before the season, he was able to overcome.

This time if England does progress to the latter stages and Saka stars in a heartbreaking drama again, they’ll be little time to recover. The Londoner will be back in the rough and tumble of a Premier League title challenge almost immediately.

That said, the Gunners are in a far healthier position than many of the other teams at the top of the league.

Spurs and Manchester City’s international talismen

Arsenal’s international contingent contrasts most significantly with bitter rivals and title challengers Tottenham Hotspur.

The number of players traveling to Qatar from the other team in North London is not dissimilar, the difference is the roles they play for their countries.

Harry Kane, Hugo Heung-min Son and Hugo Lloris all captain their nations, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur would be considered key starters.

What’s more, at least half of those going are for countries that have realistic ambitions of challenging in the latter stages of the competition.

They are likely to come back having played far more games and be carrying the baggage left by the intense emotional rollercoaster of knock-out tournament soccer.

It’s hard to see how a Tottenham side already quite reliant on its major stars would not be affected more than its bitter rivals.

In anticipation of these challenges and, with a fair point about the Premier League schedule, Spurs boss Antonio Conte has already complained about the situation his side will be facing after the tournament.

“I knew it was crazy to put the World Cup during the league, the Champions League, during the season, this type of schedule is really, really crazy,” the Tottenham Hotspur coach said.

“Honestly, also it is really strange that in England we start to play three days after the final of the World Cup.

“I think we are seeing this situation is impossible for the future. Many times, I hear about the welfare of the players. They are not worried about the welfare of the players if the schedule is this.”

At Arsenal’s closest title rivals, Manchester City, the impact is likely to be equally strong.

Much has been made of star striker Erling Haaland’s absence from the World Cup, but the club is expected to have the highest number of players traveling to Qatar in the Premier League.

The Citizens has multiple starters in the core of England, Spain and Portugal, all teams who are anticipated to challenge for the latter stages.

City will have the least opportunity to regroup and refresh during the enforced break, with its players will clocking up more minutes while its rivals rest.

The impact of this might not be immediate, but come the summer when the title run-in begins in earnest, Manchester City will be more tired than its rivals and susceptible to injury.

All of which bodes well for Arsenal, who might sneakily hope England takes an early exit and Saka is spared a bruising month.