Arsenal are set to ramp up preparations for this Saturday's Premier League home fixture against Leeds United
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta will be eager to get going again with his Arsenal players after a long international break
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will relish the return of several key stars this week as the Gunners prepare to take on Leeds United in a hotly-contested lunchtime fixture in the Premier League this weekend.
Thankfully, Arteta has had the chance to work with a cluster of players in recent days as not every member of Arsenal's first-team squad has been away on international duty this week.
But as the three-week break slowly comes to a close, eight players look poised to be back on the grass at Sobha sooner than the majority of their team-mates including Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke and Piero Hincapie, respectively.
All of those completed some training last week, while goalkeepers Kepa Arrizabalaga and Illan Meslier were not involved for their countries.
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Then there's Declan Rice, who has been enjoying some rest after withdrawing from England duty due to workload management.
Rice attended the Three Lions' 3-2 Nations League defeat to Spain and is then understood to have flown to Dubai to recharge his batteries.
His return will ultimately be Arteta and his coaching staff's call but he'll be eager to get back amongst it following an extended break.
Teenage defender Marli Salmon also had to pull out of England U18 duty, though he was able to train with Arsenal last week after overcoming a minor issue that prevented him from going away with the young Three Lions.
More will be back soon but because Arsenal are usually short on numbers at this stage of an international break - as the majority of their squad are away with their countries - they still have enough players to run sessions supplemented by U21 players.
For instance, Theo Julienne, Elijah Upson and Igor Tyjon have all had a chance to be around Arteta over the break.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice has not played a match since Arsenal's 3-0 defeat at Brighton(Image: Silvina Brodersohn - CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, captain Martin Odegaard has been given some time off after playing every minute of Norway's four Nations League matches during the international break.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes will also be resting after travelling to Australia and India with Brazil. Their game against India in Calcutta on Saturday meant they could then make the long dash back to London to get some rest in before facing Leeds.
Jurrien Timber was an unused sub for Holland on Sunday as they beat Serbia 2-1 in Eindhoven in their last game of the break.
Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis and Ezri Konsa all returned to their clubs early due to various fitness problems while William Saliba remains sidelined despite making clear progress in his recovery from a back fracture.
The majority of Arsenal's other international stars still have matches to fulfil before they head back to their clubs.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka take on Czechia on Tuesday while Mikel Merino, David Raya and Martin Zubimendi travel to Croatia on Tuesday.
Riccardo Calafiori takes on Turkey on Monday evening while Viktor Gyokeres squares off against Romania as he looks to make it four goals in as many matches.