After Arsenal’s Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, Mikel Arteta’s squad will disperse, heading off to play for their respective nations for the final time before this summer’s World Cup.
The Gunners will be hoping to claim their first piece of silverware since 2020 when they face City at Wembley. That said, Arteta will hope the League Cup is merely the first of multiple major honours won by his team this term, with the possibility of an unprecedented quadruple still on the cards.
Such a historic feat is unlikely, but not impossible. Their chances of pulling off this remarkable achievement will no doubt be predicated on the fitness of key players, including the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
Arteta will have been delighted to hear that England manager Thomas Tuchel has taken steps to ensure that the two aforementioned players are protected from injury over the upcoming international break.
Thomas Tuchel reveals March international break plans for Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka
Tuchel named his penultimate England squad ahead of the World Cup on Friday morning. Included in this huge 35-man roster were four Arsenal players: Rice, Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
While Madueke and Eze will travel straight to St. George’s Park on Monday morning, the night after the Gunners’ Carabao Cup final, Saka and Rice won’t join up with the Three Lions’ squad until Friday or Saturday, Tuchel has confirmed.
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are among 11 players who will join up to the England squad late.
— Sam Blitz (@SamBIitz) March 20, 2026
They will join up on Friday and Saturday and it looks like they will only play once in the March international break vs Japan.
They’re getting a rest. #afc
The German told the media upon his squad announcement that eleven players named in his 35-man ensemble won’t take part in England training until later in the week. The World Cup favourites play two friendlies at Wembley over the international break, with Uruguay travelling to north-west London on Friday, 27th and Japan on Tuesday, 31st.
Rice and Saka, alongside the likes of Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, won’t feature in the game against Uruguay, although they could make an appearance against Japan. This measure was clearly implemented by Tuchel with these players’ physical well-being in mind.
Thomas Tuchel says the following players will not link up with England until after the first game v Uruguay:
— Alex Crook ⚽️🎙 (@alex_crook) March 20, 2026
Dean Henderson
Burn
Guehi
Konsa
O'Reilly
Anderson
Rice
Rogers
Gordon
Kane
Saka @talkSPORT
So often, international coaches have fielded players who play almost every minute for their clubs in meaningless friendlies, and this has led to burnout. Tuchel, having overseen crucial domestic run-ins at several clubs, has taken the sensible option to provide some of these players with a much-needed rest.
This should aid Arsenal in their quadruple pursuit, with at least two of their most important stars granted a few days off in the midst of a gruelling and congested fixture schedule.
Myles Lewis-Skelly earns first England under-21 call-up
One man who wasn’t named in Tuchel’s squad was left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly. The teenager enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom during the 2024/25 season, which ultimately accelerated his path through the England ranks.
Skipping the under-21 level, Lewis-Skelly was called up to the senior side for the first time last March and was then named in each of Tuchel’s following three squads. However, after being relegated to the third-choice left-back option this season under Arteta, he has dropped out of the German manager’s England plans.
Instead, he’s earned his first call-up to the Three Lions’ under-21s squad. He’ll join Ethan Nwaneri in Lee Carsley’s squad, with the young England side set to play Andorra and Moldova in qualifiers for the under-21 Euros, which takes place next summer.
Having hardly featured for Arsenal of late, this will be a good opportunity for Lewis-Skelly to get some minutes into his legs ahead of the run-in.
