Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta handed triple boost on top of frustrating injury blow
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has been in great form for Sweden
Mikel Arteta makes no secret of the fact he is not a huge fan of international breaks. The best thing for him is that he gets to spend precious time with his family but outside of that, he is watching on from his fingertips.
He's been stung plenty of times in the past through injuries and this particular extended three-week break has been no different.
Kai Havertz has already returned to Arsenal with a hamstring issue sustained in Germany's 1-1 Nations League draw against Holland while Martin Odegaard sat out of Norway training on Tuesday due to ankle pain following a strong late challenge from Bernardo Silva.
While it's easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom - Odegaard should be fine, though - there have also been huge positives for Arteta.
The first of which is the form of Viktor Gyokeres, who is now off the mark this season after netting in each of Sweden's Nations League matches thus far. He first netted the winner in the 2-1 triumph over Romania before also finding the target against Poland.
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Providing Havertz is not back sooner than expected, Gyokeres will likely be first-choice when he returns to north London, so both goals will have done his confidence the world of good.
Prior to the break, he had been struggling for form and minutes and Arteta indicated he might benefit from a change of environment. That's exactly what has transpired and now the focus needs to shift to ensuring Gyokeres does not pull up with a fitness issue.
Alexander Isak has already returned to Liverpool due to a thigh issue, so the workload on Gyokeres may naturally increase, which is a small worry for Arsenal. Still, he could do with the minutes as he'll return to Arsenal in better physical shape.
Additionally, Christos Tzolis has also been in top form for Greece, who top their Nations League group.
The 24-year-old made the perfect start to his Arsenal career but the numbers have dried up in recent weeks and his place in the starting XI has not felt so secure.
Christos Tzolis netted for Greece vs Serbia
But since being away with Greece, Tzolis netted in a 2-1 win over Serbia and also assisted the winner in his nation's shock victory over Germany.
Much like Gyokeres, those goal involvements will only bolster his confidence and he'll be returning to Arsenal in a better mental shape than when he departed for camp on the back of the 3-0 defeat at Brighton.
Thirdly, Holland have also taken Jurrien Timber's physical condition really seriously. Arsenal have put so much time into restoring Timber's fitness and that could easily have been undone with some rash judgement from Oranje.
To their credit, they have worked closely with Arsenal and managed how they have utilised Timber. Again, he's another player that will likely return to his club in better physical shape.
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