Arsenal players will be delayed on return to North London after England nightmare

Arsenal’s England players will be involved in the Bronze Medal Match on Saturday delaying their start to their summer holidays and subsequent return to Mikel Arteta’s pre-season preparations

Arsenal watched as 15 of their superstars flew out to North America to take part in this summer’s World Cup. The Gunners now have just three remaining, with Spain and Argentina facing off in one of the most exciting finals ever.

Mikel Arteta might have been at home watching his Arsenal players, peaking over the back of the sofa, praying none of them gets hurt ahead of the new season. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have been suffering with problems throughout the tournament, with the latter unable to take part in a single minute of the semi-final.

William Saliba, meanwhile, has come away with a back problem that could be rather serious. So serious in fact, it might force a change of plans in the transfer window.

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But for Rice, Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, hopes of now returning home following England’s defeat have been put on hold. The reason is that England must now face off against France in the Bronze Medal Match.

England manager Thomas Tuchel said it best: “No one wants to be involved in this game. Even going as far as to speak on behalf of the French team, too.

“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” Tuchel told reporters following the defeat. “They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that’s how it is. We have one less day of recovery than France, but we will do it with professionalism.”

And yet they will, and not only that, players who have not been regular features are therefore likely to be involved rather than the starters. Of the Arsenal players, that means Eberechi Eze and potentially Noni Madueke, of whom neither featured in the semi-final, could play.

For Arsenal, this is frustrating as it will extend the delay for players returning to the club. Players are given a minimum of three weeks off, meaning that the earliest that players could return is likely to be Monday, 10 August.

That means definitely missing the first three matches of pre-season against Girona, Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund, while also missing the game with Como on August 12. Then comes the FA Community Shield against Manchester City on August 16, which some could make it back for, but many feel, certainly with Saka and Rice, they will need even more recovery time.