Only four Premier League clubs have more players at the 2022 Qatar World Cup than Arsenal's 10. From them 10 players, nine are all regular starters for Mikel Arteta's side in the Premier League.
The Gunners have built one of the strongest starting XIs in the league to sit top of the Premier League after 14 games. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka have all contributed enormously to help Arteta's side to their best start to a five-point lead over title rivals Manchester City.
However, the 2022/23 campaign has provided a number of hurdles for clubs to deal with, and the scheduling of the prestigious tournament during the winter months has been a major one. Players are tasked with an intensified workload whilst managers spend either side of the tournament hesitant over player welfare and concerns over injuries.
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We remain early days into the World Cup, but a pattern amongst Arsenal's Qatar players has emerged. And Arteta will have no complaints. Three Gunners are yet to feature and only two players, so far, have played longer than 45 minutes.
Xhaka and Thomas Partey are likely to follow Matt Turner and Saka in starting in their nation's second fixture, but Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli face starting off the bench for a second consecutive fixture for Brazil. William Saliba, Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale - three of Arteta's five starts in defence - have not played a single moment so far.
Whilst there's a certain element of Arteta wanting his players to feature for their nations in a major tournament, keeping them fit and well away from injuries ahead of the second half of the season is his personal target.
Arsenal find themselves in an early season title race, and hope of lifting their first Premier League title race since 2004 will grow as the games tick by. Compared to City, the Gunners lack squad depth in all areas of the pitch and will want to delve into the transfer market to add to Arteta's crop of players rather than lose any of their key players.
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