GOOD news for Arsenal is BAD news for Chile and France

THe second night of the round of games in the current international break is all done and dusted, with Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger happy and relieved that the various Gunners involved have come through unscathed. In fact, they were hardly used. Only David Ospina completed a game and he kept a clean sheet as Colombia put six past Bahrain.

There could have been five Arsenal players starting games tonight, but neither Alexis Sanchez in the Iran v Chile game nor Gabriel, Giroud and Koscielny in the France v Brazil game started. The players may have wanted to and felt frustrated on the bench but it is good news for us fans who want them back as fit and fresh as possible for the important domestic action to come.

Alexis did play the second half against Iran but it was not enough to stop his team suffering a surprise defeat. I am sure the Arsenal striker will be used from the start against Brazil at the Emirates on Sunday but then he will have almost a week before we host Liverpool.

Giroud did come on and look sharp for France but only for a few minutes. He and Koscielny can console themselves with the fact that the players starting ahead of them did not exactly cover themselves in glory, defending poorly and struggling in front of goal as Brazil won 3-1. So I would expect them both to start against Denmark on Sunday.

Chile and France may have suffered but Arsenal fans will be happy our stars got a well needed rest.