The club plays against the national team. That is the age-old tug-of-war of football.
After Martin Zubimendi withdrew from the Spanish national team, a total of 11 Arsenal players withdrew from the national team or left the training camp before the final stretch of the season.
That sparked a debate about the level of dedication of players to the colors of the flag, and at the same time led to accusations that Arsenal is putting pressure on the federations to bring their stars back soon. But is anyone really surprised?
Arsenal is entering the most important stage in the club's recent history, with the opportunity to win the historic treble still intact. Their next 5 matches include 3 cup quarter-finals and one match that could be decisive for the Premier League title race.
Whether they want to or not, it is clear that the players whose national team only plays friendlies this month will have to be especially careful. In the opposite direction, Riccardo Calafiori and Viktor Gyokeres will definitely do everything to help Italy and Sweden in the World Cup qualifying play-off final.
Among the players who have returned to London are Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. Team officials may think that their return to the club is a more reasonable option, in order to avoid affecting their long-term fitness before the World Cup. It should also be noted that only when the squad for the match against Southampton is announced, will people know the seriousness of Arsenal's injury situation.
But one thing is certain is that FIFA cannot continue to organize international holidays too late in the European season, otherwise football will continue to harm itself. The international schedule is already dense, but when important play-off matches and even procedural friendly matches are squeezed into the knockout stage of club-level tournaments, it is clear that adjustments are needed.
Should Arsenal players be criticized for withdrawing? That is a completely grounded question.
FIFA has shown readiness to adapt by merging international holidays in September and October into a three-week period, with the first phase starting from the end of this year. This change will help most of Europe's top domestic leagues not have to be interrupted three times in three months.
That will also help the national team coaches have more time to work with the players. And of course, there will also be fewer withdrawals when the players know that the club's next match does not take place just a few days later. Therefore, instead of just stopping there, why not combine the gatherings in November and March?
A reasonable option is to choose mid-February, a time far enough after the winter break for clubs. This will allow the qualifiers to close and the play-offs to be organized smoother. Instead of forcing players to rush to plan for a summer tournament with just over two months of preparation, they will have significantly more time.
Of course, organizing play-offs immediately after the qualifiers will entail many logistical difficulties. But FIFA and federations are certainly capable of preparing in advance for the competition venue. And speaking of venues, organizing play-off matches on neutral grounds will certainly be more reasonable than giving home field advantage to some teams just because of the draw results.
There will certainly be complaints from enthusiastic Premier League fans about having to endure a longer break than usual. But at least, they only have to complain twice a season instead of four times.
Simply put, FIFA cannot continue to add an international holiday to the important stage of the season, in the context that players and coaching staff are already exhausted by a dense schedule. Don't blame Arsenal. Blame modern football itself.
