Mikel Arteta is expected to be without his star midfielders for the start of Arsenal's pre-season preparations - and he could be forced to field a makeshift line-up for their Premier League opener.
Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino have all reached the World Cup quarter-finals with their respective countries.
Rice and Eze, along with Gunners team-mates Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka, will meet Odegaard when England face Norway on Saturday.
Merino - who scored a late winner as Spain beat Portugal in the last-16 - and Zubimendi will go head-to-head with Leandro Trossard and Belgium a day earlier on Friday as they also attempt to book a spot in the last-four.
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Arteta will no doubt be delighted that his players have enjoyed success at the showpiece tournament this summer.
The Premier League champions still have 10 players in the tournament, with David Raya also part of the Spain squad while William Saliba has been starring for France.
But it also provides the manager with a headache as he prepares for their title defence, with the Arsenal squad due to return for pre-season over the next few weeks before they kick-off their summer plans against Girona on August 1.
Players at the World Cup will be given about three weeks off once their tournament is over, so their return to London Colney will be delayed.
It also means that the players will need time to get back up to speed, once they return from a well-deserved break.
With either England or Norway guaranteed to be in the semi-final, it means Arteta will be forced to plan without one of Rice or Odegaard - with both midfielders playing a huge role in last season's title triumph.
Myles Lewis-Skelly - who missed out on England's World Cup - was trialled in midfield at the back end of last season and impressed.
They also have Christian Norgaard and Ethan Nwaneri in their ranks and both players can play in the middle of the park, but they both face uncertain futures and have been linked with summer exits.
There's also the added complication of the saga involving Morgan Rogers, with the Gunners making the Aston Villa midfielder their top priority to sign this summer.
But their Premier League rivals value him at £130million, with an agreement yet to be reached, and he is also part of the England squad.
It means that Arsenal's potential star signing and their key midfielders are likely to miss a majority of their pre-season camp.
Arsenal also play Real Betis on August 5, Borussia Dortmund on August 9 and Como 1907 on August 12 before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 16.
Their Premier League campaign kicks off on August 21 when Frank Lampard's newly-promoted Coventry City travel to the Emirates Stadium for the top-flight's 2026-27 curtain-raiser on a Friday night.