Although it would have been a whole lot better for Arsenal if we had gone into the current two week international break on a high instead of on the back of two disappointing results, it still comes at a good time for the Gunners, giving Arsene Wenger and his players a valuable bit of breathing time to recover and refocus for the rest of the season ahead.
One thing that we desperately need from this break is to get some of the injured players back or at least closer to a return, the most important of those being our France international centre back Laurent Koscielny. The defe3nder is still suffering from tendon trouble in his ankles and it is hard to predict exactly when he will be okay to play, but the boss has said that he could be available again after the break. With Man United and then Borussia Dortmund coming up, Arsenal could really do with the Frenchman back.
Debuchy and Ozil will not be fit right away but neither will be far away from a comeback either and with those three players back, along with Giroud, Walcott and Gnabry, the boss suddenly has a strong squad with plenty of options again. That is assuming and hoping that we get no more injuries from the players on international duty.
A few Gunners, like Walcott, Podolski, Campbell and Rosicky should get some valuable time on the pitch and will hopefully come back to north London in better physical and mental condition to help Arsenal climb the Premier League table and qualify for the Champions League.
Realistically, however, we will be hoping for a kind draw for the knockout phase in Europe and are going to be fighting for second in the EPL, unless the wheels fall off in a big way for Chelsea. So the best chance of a trophy for the Gunners might be to defend the FA cup we won at Wembley in May, with the first game for us coming just after the new year. But if we are not playing a lot better by then, it is going to be a painful season for us all. I’m sure we will be though. How about you?