At a Glance:
- Arsenal had 13 players away on international duty this week.
- While some returned home early with injury concerns, others made major impacts.
- Noni Madueke appears to be the only serious casualty.
The international break has concluded, and the majority of Arsenal’s squad return to London Colney unscathed, as Mikel Arteta’s side prepare to take on their most important run-in for several years.
The Gunners sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games left to play, while they remain in contention for both the Champions League and the FA Cup. Thus, it was imperative that Arteta’s international stars returned from their respective national team camps in one piece.
Ten Arsenal players withdrew from international duty, although it’s understood that many of these withdrawals were precautionary. That said, Noni Madueke appears to have sustained a genuine injury whilst playing for England that will keep him out for a couple of matches at the very least.
With that in mind, here’s a look at every Arsenal player who featured for their country over the past week, and how many minutes they played – this will likely inform Arteta’s team selection for the upcoming Southampton and Sporting CP matches.
Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) – 210 minutes
Riccardo Calafiori had an eventful international break to say the least. After Italy failed to top their qualifying group, they were thrust into the World Cup qualification play-offs.
The defender was instrumental in Italy’s victory over Northern Ireland in the semi-final, before a disastrous final against Bosnia and Herzegovina – that went to penalties – saw the European giants fail to qualify for football’s showpiece international tournament for the third time in a row.
Calafiori played every minute across both games, which will certainly worry Arteta given the player’s fitness track record.
🚨BREAKING: Riccardo Calafiori will get a break this summer as he will not be at the World Cup.
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) March 31, 2026
Italy are out. pic.twitter.com/Tb7HJV4mLP
Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden) – 180 minutes
Viktor Gyokeres enjoyed an outstanding international break. Like Calafiori, the striker had meaningful matches to play for his country, with Sweden vying for a place at this summer’s tournament in North America.
First, Gyokeres scored a hat-trick against Ukraine, before netting the winning goal in the 88th minute of the qualification final against Poland on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old also played every minute, and may now need to be rested against Southampton.
Aura 🫱🫲 pic.twitter.com/yKqyyKJUfM
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) March 31, 2026
Myles Lewis-Skelly (England U21s) – 180 minutes
While in an ideal world Arteta probably wouldn’t have Gyokeres and Calafiori featuring so prominently for their nations, the Spaniard was likely happy to see Myles Lewis-Skelly get some minutes into his legs.
Playing for the England under-21s for the first time, Lewis-Skelly was excellent across both games, although he stood out with a monstrous display against Moldova on Tuesday. Involved in the creation of two goals for Ethan Nwaneri at Carrow Road, the level looked somewhat beneath the 19-year-old left-back.
Max Dowman (England U19s) – 159 minutes
While there was talk of Max Dowman being named in Thomas Tuchel’s senior squad, this was never likely to materialise, and instead, he was kept grounded by being utilised in the under-19s.
Featuring against both Serbia and Portugal, Dowman lit up the latter fixture. Scoring a stunning goal that involved running with the ball from the halfway line, he also registered two assists.
He’s in line to feature against Southampton after Madueke’s injury, and Arteta will therefore be delighted that the wonderkid was brought off early in both of these international games.
Christian Norgaard (Denmark) – 147 minutes
Like both Calafiori and Gyokeres, Christian Norgaard was involved in World Cup qualification play-offs over the international break. The midfielder played as a centre-back across both of Denmark’s games, starting in their 4-0 victory over North Macedonia, whilst coming on as a substitute in the final against Czechia.
He played 87 minutes in the first game before playing 60 minutes of the Czechia clash, which went to penalties. The former Brentford man won’t be going to the World Cup, after Denmark lost the shootout in Prague.
Kai Havertz (Germany) – 108 minutes
Kai Havertz has been struggling with injury issues throughout this season, and thus, it was important that he got some minutes for Germany to build his fitness ahead of the run-in.
Julian Nagelsmann used the forward for 63 minutes in a 4-3 thriller against Switzerland, before playing him on the right wing against Ghana. The former Chelsea man scored a penalty on the stroke of half-time against the Black Stars, before being substituted at the break.
🚨💣 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃: 🇩🇪
— Topskills Sports UK (@topskillsportuk) March 30, 2026
Kai Havertz's penalty sums → his 21st senior international goal (56 caps).
Reliable from the spot (career 92%+ conversion rate) pic.twitter.com/4u1a5vgAZi
Cristhian Mosquera (Spain) – 97 minutes
Cristhian Mosquera earned his first call-up to the senior Spain squad this month. He left the Euro 2024 winners’ camp having impressed, making waves amongst Luis de la Fuente’s coaching team.
Managing a seven-minute cameo against Serbia, he then performed excellently across 90 minutes in Spain’s 0-0 draw with Egypt on Tuesday.
Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil) – 85 minutes
Gabriel Martinelli was deployed on the right for much of his 62-minute showing for Brazil against France. He then scored in his short cameo off the bench against Croatia, netting his fourth international goal in added time against the European outfit.
Ben White (England) – 80 minutes
Ben White made his controversial return to the England fold this month. Called up to replace the injured Jarrel Quansah, his international renaissance caused quite the stir.
After being introduced in the 69th minute against Uruguay on Thursday, White was met with a chorus of boos inside Wembley Stadium. Just 12 minutes later, he scored his first goal for the Three Lions.
Starting against Japan, White then received a more mixed reception when he was hooked at the hour mark.
🚨 Ben White has been called-up to the England squad for the first time since leaving 2022 World Cup early, after Jarell Quansah withdrew due to injury. ✅🦁 pic.twitter.com/4A98Cbs335
— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) March 23, 2026
Piero Hincapie (Ecuador) – 72 minutes
Piero Hincapie started for Ecuador against Morocco in Madrid, but lasted just 72 minutes before he was forced off injured. He subsequently returned to North London and is now a doubt for the Southampton clash.
David Raya (Spain) – 62 minutes
De La Fuente still favours Unai Simon as Spain’s number one, so the last week was largely a training exercise for David Raya. That said, he was given a rare opportunity to play for his country against Egypt, although he was taken off for Joan Garcia in the 62nd minute.
Noni Madueke (England) – 38 minutes
Noni Madueke lasted just 38 minutes of England’s game against Uruguay before a collision inside the South American nation’s penalty box brought his game to an end. He returned to London Colney following this incident.
Martin Zubimendi (Spain) – 13 minutes
With Rodri back, Martin Zubimendi’s place in Spain’s starting eleven isn’t quite as certain. He was granted 13 minutes off the bench against Serbia before he left La Roja’s camp as a precautionary measure.
