Arsenal return to action in the Premier League with a five-point cushion at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta’s side have a little bit more time to prepare than some of the Premier League’s other leading clubs, having lost to Brighton in the Carabao Cup last month
That's left them with a free week before taking on West Ham in a London derby at Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day (December 26) but we're now a little over 48 hours away from kickoff.
When are Arsenal’s World Cup players back?
There were 10 Arsenal players in Qatar overall, with William Saliba a part of the France squad that went all the way to the final.
Four of these have already returned to friendly action for the Gunners, with Ben White and Thomas Partey playing in the 2-1 win over AC Milan. White returned early from England’s campaign without playing a minute for Gareth Southgate’s men, while Partey’s Ghana were eliminated in the group stage.
Aaron Ramsdale, who served as backup to England No.1 Jordan Pickford, and Granit Xhaka, out in the last 16 with Switzerland, played in a 2-0 loss to Juventus. Xhaka scored an own goal in a 2-0 defeat in north London, but valuable minutes on the field still made that an overall positive experience.
Are Arsenal’s World Cup players available vs West Ham in the Premier League?
Given Saliba’s minimal role in France’s run and the extra recovery time granted by their League Cup elimination, it is reasonable to expect all of Arsenal’s Word Cup representatives to be in contention against West Ham, with the exception of Gabriel Jesus.
Brazil forward Jesus suffered a medial knee ligament injury during his country's game against Cameroon that required surgery. The former Manchester City player could be sidelined for up to four months.
Takehiro Tomiyasu nursed injury issues throughout Japan’s run to the last 16 but Arteta reported he was “running on the pitch” after the Juventus game.
All of Arsenal’s World Cup players were due back in training for the week commencing Dec. 19, with the exception of Saliba, who returned on Friday, Dec. 23 and follows Ramsdale, White and Xhaka’s lead of returning with a minimal vacation.
Arsenal’s World Cup players: How they fared in Qatar
Saliba has a silver medal in his pocket after a grand total of 27 minutes on the field during France’s dead rubber group stage defeat to Tunisia.
Bukayo Saka was a standout performer for England, scoring three goals and producing a magnificent individual performance in the 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to France.
Brazil also departed in the quarters, but Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli predominantly served as backup to a talent-stacked forward line led by Richarlison and Neymar.
| Player | Country | Stage | Games | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Turner | USA | Last 16 | 4 | 360 |
| Aaron Ramsdale | England | Quarterfinals | 0 | 0 |
| Ben White | England | Quarterfinals | 0 | 0 |
| William Saliba | France | Final | 1 | 27 |
| Takehiro Tomiyasu | Japan | Last 16 | 3 | 186 |
| Granit Xhaka | Switzerland | Last 16 | 4 | 360 |
| Thomas Partey | Ghana | Group stage | 3 | 270 |
| Gabriel Jesus | Brazil | Quarterfinals | 3 | 92 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | Brazil | Quarterfinals | 3 | 111 |
| Bukayo Saka | England | Quarterfinals | 4 | 295 |
Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | fuboTV, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
