Arsenal's run of form after the last five international breaks suggests it will work out
Arsenal suffered a devastating 3-0 thumping at the hands of Brighton to close out their first period of matches before the international break and naturally, there is plenty of concern around the performance on the South Coast.
The Gunners were completely humbled at the American Express Stadium with a true pecking by the Seagulls as Pascal Groß, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés all struck to end the North Londoners' winning start to the season in humilating fashion.
Mikel Arteta oversaw a showing that left a lot to be desired and with just under a month to go until his side's next game, he will be eager for Arsenal to bounce back once the international break is out of the way.
While fans will be very concerned about the Gunners' embarassment at Brighton, there was never any expectation for them to go through the entire season perfectly so a defeat was due to occur at some point, even if it wasn't in such dominant circumstances.
The Premier League champions now have plenty of time to reset and prepare to improve their form after the break and if their form after the last five international breaks is anything to go by, everything should work out just fine.
Following the March 2025 international break, Arsenal's hopes of winning the Premier League were incredibly slim with Liverpool basically already having two hands on the trophy while their chances of reaching the Champions League final looked very tough as the holders stood in the way.
Arteta's side began the restart with a 2-1 win over Fulham before drawing 1-1 with Everton. European action then returned to the Emirates Stadium with Real Madrid visiting in the quarter-finals. The record champions were the strong favourites, but the Gunners brushed them aside with a 3-0 victory.
That form didn't continue domestically as Brentford took a point from North London with a 1-1 draw, but Arsenal did stun the Bernabéu to rid talk of a seemingly certain remontada with a dramatic 2-1 win against Real Madrid to secure their spot in the last four for the first time in almost 15 years.
The North Londoners finally secured another win in the league with a 4-0 triumph at relegation-threatened Ipswich Town, but were then held by London rivals Crystal Palace 2-2 at home.
Their hopes of reaching the Champions League final took a serious knock with a 1-0 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain before they fell 2-1 to Bournemouth at the Emirates. A hard-fought performance in the French capital wasn't enough as PSG secured a 2-1 triumph to knock Arsenal out of Europe.
A comeback from two goals down away to then-champions Liverpool saw the Gunners claim a 2-2 draw at Anfield before they ended the season with two consecutive wins. A 1-0 win over Newcastle was followed by a 2-1 triumph at relegated Southampton to close a trophyless season.
Having fallen 1-0 to Liverpool before the break, Arsenal bounced back with incredible form after the September 2025 international period with six wins from seven matches.
That run began with a dominant 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest before starting their European campaign with a 2-0 win away to Athletic Bilbao. Gabriel Martinelli then netted a dramatic late equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw against Manchester City.
A comeback 2-1 win at Newcastle was preceded by a 2-0 Carabao Cup triumph away to then-League One outfit Port Vale, and was followed by 2-0 victories over Olympiacos and London rivals West Ham, the latter of which put them top of the Premier League table heading into the next break.
An exact replica of their form after the previous break, Arsenal managed six victories from seven games after the October international period, and it was one of their best runs of form throughout the entire season.
Returning to action with a 1-0 win away to Fulham, the Gunners then demolished Atlético Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League to continue their perfect start in Europe. Another 1-0 league triumph followed with a slender victory over Crystal Palace.
Consecutive 2-0 wins over Brighton in the Carabao Cup and Burnley in the league were the final victories of an outstanding streak before it was halted dramatically by Sunderland. The Black Cats snatched a late equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw and end Arsenal's winning run before the next break.
As there isn't really a definitive point we can say let's stop there, we've looked at Arsenal's entire form from the November 2025 break all the way through to the next period, totalling to 33 matches with the Gunners taking 23 victories in that time.
Arteta's side returned to winning ways immediately after the restart with a dominant 4-1 victory over North London rivals Tottenham. Eberechi Eze, who was set to join Spurs in the 2025 summer window before Arsenal swooped in to hijack the deal, netted a hat-trick in the win.
The superb form carried over into Europe as the Gunners defeated familiar foes Bayern Munich 3-1 on a glorious night at the Emirates, only to be hindered by 10-men Chelsea with a 1-1 draw in a return to league action.
A midweek 2-0 win over Brentford was followed by a late 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, in which Emiliano Buendia's stoppage time winner condemned Arteta's side to just their second loss of the season, and a first since August.
Arsenal bounced back with hard-fought wins over Club Brugge, Wolves and Everton though and also secured their spot in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup with a penalty shootout triumph against Crystal Palace following a 1-1 draw.
A 2-1 victory over Brighton began the restart after Christmas before the Gunners got their revenge on Villa with a sensational 4-1 demolition in the reverse fixture. However, the following 3-2 comeback win at Bournemouth proved to be their final league victory for three matches.
0-0 draws with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest preceded a shock 3-2 defeat at home to a resurgent Manchester United, putting the hopes of winning the title in danger once again. In the midst of the poor league form though, Arsenal defeated Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup third round, came out on top against Inter Milan and Kairat in the Champions League to complete a perfect league phase, and managed a 3-2 first leg win at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The Gunners found their feet in the league once again with a commanding 4-0 win at Leeds before securing their spot in a first final of the season, defeating Chelsea 1-0 late on to set up a meeting with Man City at Wembley.
More draws followed in the league with two leads surrendered to be held by Brentford and Wolves, with a 4-0 FA Cup win over Wigan sandwiched between. The second North London derby of the season came round and Arsenal managed another 4-1 win to send their rivals closer to the relegation zone.
Wins over Chelsea, Brighton and Everton closed out the league action ahead of the break while the Gunners sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League with wins over Mansfield Town and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.
In the final match before the break, Arsenal were presented with the chance of winning a first piece of silverware of the season, but a poor performance saw them fall 2-0 to Man City in the final of the Carabao Cup, dampening the mood heading into the international period.
Facing a run-in that was set to decide their fate across the three remaining competitions, Arsenal made an awful start with a 2-1 defeat away to Championship side Southampton that saw them exit the FA Cup.
The Gunners bounced back with a 1-0 win away to Sporting in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, drawing 0-0 a week later to head through to the last four. A spineless 2-1 loss at home to Bournemouth put their title-winning credentials in further doubt though.
A potentially decisive clash away to Man City ended in another 2-1 defeat for Arsenal, who despite a resilient performance at the Etihad found themselves off the top of the table for the first time since October.
That was only temporary though as a 1-0 win over Newcastle quickly restored the lead before a 1-1 draw at Atlético put them in a good position to reach their first Champions League final in 20 years.
Fulham visited the Emirates the following weekend with the hopes of upsetting their capital rivals, but Arteta's side cruised to a 3-0 win before defeating Atléti 1-0 to secure their spot in the final.
With three games left to play in the league, Arsenal travelled to relegation-threatened West Ham and snatched a dramatic 1-0 win after Leandro Trossard scored a late winner ahead of the hosts seeing a stoppage time equaliser ruled out.
Kai Havertz scored the winner in a difficult 1-0 triumph over Burnley in the penultimate match, and that result added to Man City's failure to beat Bournemouth the following day crowned them champions of the Premier League.
As the pressure eased domestically, Arsenal enjoyed a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on the final day of the season before losing in a penalty shootout to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, despite leading for much of the game.
It was a bittersweet ending to the season that saw the Gunners end their long wait to win the Premier League, but also suffer heartbreak at the final hurdle to ensure their hunt for European glory went on for at least another season.
With a winning percentage of 76.71% from the 73 matches Arsenal have played after the last five international breaks, the past shows that they should be just fine once club football resumes in three weeks.
The defeat at Brighton was total humilation for the Gunners if their recent years are anything to go by, but history suggests they should be more than capable of bouncing back from it quite quickly.
Arteta's side will be under plenty of pressure to improve quickly after the restart and Arsenal should be confident that they can do so. The Gunners have responded in fine fashion previously and there is absolutely no reason they won't do it again this time to ensure the result at Brighton is a mere blip in what could be a brilliant season.
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