France v England: Bronze Medal Match - FIFA World Cup 2026
France v England: Bronze Medal Match - FIFA World Cup 2026 | NurPhoto/GettyImages
The first international break of the 2026/27 season is upon us, and several Arsenal players are set to travel to play for their nations.
In an unusual move, the footballing powers have come together to scrap one of the three Autumn international breaks this year, combining the September and October hiatus' to form an unprecedented three week version of this antagonising break, which bores everyone.
While the lengthy pause in Premier League action will inevitably be unbearable for club football fanatics, it will provide national sides the chance to work together for an extended period, potentially harmonising them ahead of future international tournaments.
Another positive of this break is that a handful of Arsenal players not on duty will get an extended rest before the hectic post-break fixture schedule. On the flip side, a number of Gunners stars will now go away and play up to four relatively meaningless games in the space of 11 days.
With that said, here’s a look at the Arsenal players who are on international duty this month.
England - Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly
Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad on Monday, sparking fears that the midfielder is carrying an injury. However, it's been revealed that his absence from Thomas Tuchel's ensemble is merely precautionary as he deals with an excessive workload.
However, even with Rice, Ben White and Noni Madueke not away with the Three Lions, the Gunners still have four stars in the England set-up for this break. Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze received the call-up from Tuchel, while Myles Lewis-Skelly returns to the fold after missing the World Cup, and Ezri Konsa is in the squad as an Arsenal player for the first time.
The World Cup semi-finalists play four games in the Nations League during this break.
26/09/2026 - England vs Spain
29/09/2026 - Czechia vs England
03/10/2026 - Croatis vs England
06/10/2026 - England vs Czechia
Spain - David Raya, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino
Arsenal's World Cup winners return to La Roja duty this month, with all three of David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino set to represent Luis de la Fuente's men again. It remains to be seen whether Raya will get a look-in as the number one or whether the Spain boss will instead opt to stick by Unai Simon.
The world champions face the Three Lions, among others, during this convoluted international break.
26/09/2026 - England vs Spain
29/09/2026 - Spain vs Croatia
03/10/2026 - Spain vs Czechia
06/10/2026 - Croatia vs Spain
Brazil - Gabriel Magalhaes, Bruno Guimaraes
Sadly, Gabriel Martinelli's recent move to Al-Hilal appears to have put Carlo Ancelotti off the winger, who doesn't make this squad. Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes are involved, however, with the latter making the Selecao for the first time as a Gunner.
Unlike the European sides, Brazil only have friendlies to play during this break, and there are only three of them. The South American nation will travel to Australia and India for their matches.
25/09/2026 - Australia vs Brazil
29/09/2026 - Australia vs Brazil
03/10/2026 - India vs Brazil
Netherlands - Jurrien Timber
Jurrien Timber returns to the Netherlands squad after missing the World Cup through injury. Expected to be a prominent player under new boss Xavi, minutes in these Nations League encounters could prove to be the right-back's pre-season, having only just returned from a lengthy setback.
24/09/2026 - Netherlands vs Germany
27/09/2026 - Serbia vs Netherlands
01/10/2026 - Greece vs Netherlands
04/10/2026 - Netherlands vs Serbia
Italy - Riccardo Calafiori
The pressure is on the Italian national team to reverse the country's general recent fortunes, and thus, this break could be significant for Calafiori, who will want to make an impression under new manager Roberto Mancini.
25/09/2026 - Italy vs Belgium
28/09/2026 - Turkey vs Italy
02/09/2026 - France vs Italy
05/09/2026 - Italy vs Turkey
Norway - Martin Odegaard
Martin Odegaard will no doubt be looking forward to linking up with his compatriots once again after impressing at the World Cup for Norway, which ultimately sparked him back into life at Arsenal.
The Scandinavian nation have four games in 11 days, including trips to Wales and Portugal.
24/09/2026 - Norway vs Denmark
27/09/2026 - Norway vs Portugal
01/10/2026 - Wales vs Norway
04/10/2026 - Portugal vs Nor
Germany - Kai Havertz
Jurgen Klopp is the new Germany manager, and he's clearly acted in the best interests of clubs and players with his first international team selection. Knowing the risk of overburdening players during international breaks, Klopp has selected two separate squads, one of which will not feature at all in the latter two fixtures.
Kai Havertz is in the second squad, meaning he should have a week-and-a-half off to prepare for Arsenal's game against Leeds after his involvement with die Mannschaft ends.
24/09/2026 - Netherlands vs Germany
27/09/2026 - Germany vs Greece
01/10/2026 - Germany vs Serbia
04/10/2026 - Greece vs Germany
Sweden - Viktor Gyokeres
Graham Potter has named Viktor Gyokeres in his squad for Sweden's Nations League matches, and the Arsenal striker is expected to be deployed up top alongside Alexander Isak for the Scandinavian side.
The Swedes are in Nations League B, meaning the level of opposition is a bit lower, which should allow Gyokeres to score some goals and subsequently rediscover his confidence.
25/09/2026 - Sweden vs Romania
28/09/2026 - Sweden vs Poland
02/10/2026 - Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Sweden
05/10/2026 - Romania vs Sweden
Greece - Christos Tzolis
Greece are in the top Nations League bracket, meaning Christos Tzolis will face some difficult challenges throughout this break, including a double header against Arsenal teammate Kai Havertz.
The Gunners winger will be the talisman of the Greece attack, alongside Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis.
24/09/2026 - Serbia vs Greece
27/09/2026 - Germany vs Greece
01/10/2026 - Greece vs Netherlands
04/10/2026 - Greece vs Germany
England 19 - Max Dowman
Despite ongoing talk about Max Dowman being involved in the England first team, Thomas Tuchel wasn't tempted to name the 16-year-old in his squad for this particular set of fixtures.
Instead, Dowman assumes his role in the Three Lions’ under-19 set-up for the time being.
25/09/2026 - England U19 vs Republic of Ireland U19
29/09/2026 - England U19 vs Norway U19
02/10/2026 - England U19 vs United States U19
05/10/2026 - England U19 vs Belgium U19
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