I can’t say I’m overly fussed about the international matches that are going on this weekend. I mean, I’m having a look at results every once in a while and of course I keep the news on to see things like Italy hilariously getting knocked out to North Macedonia to miss their second World Cup in a row, but in reality I’m not fussed about what happens.

That is, of course, unless it involves an Arsenal player and the possibility of missing out on Arsenal matches. So as long as key players make it through their respective games with their national sides, then I’m fine with that. So when I heard that Bukayo Saka was withdrawn from the England squad for these upcoming friendlies, I’m not going to lie, my heart sank a little. He has been pivotal to our good form, is scoring goals and is essential to us if we want to achieve our Top Four ambitions this season. So I will admit to being more than worried.

Then, when I heard it was because he tested positive for COVID-19, I will admit again that my heart felt a little lighter indeed. My first thoughts really should be focused on the fact that he has contracted what has been a deadly virus to millions of people on this planet, but as a football fan my football-supporting world operates in a bubble and so I must confess to immediately feeling positive about his withdrawal. Of course there are the caveats that he could have it worse than many have had it and so of course, we all have to hope he is asymptomatic, or at least only has mild symptoms for a few days. But as long as he only has either of those scenarios, then personally this could be a blessing for us and for him.

We’ve all talked about how he was playing every minute and many of us couldn’t see where he was going to get any rest. Even though he’s in a young body that will heal quickly, even those players can break down and we saw it with Jack Wilshere. But this contraction of COVID for Bukayo could not come at a better time from an Arsenal perspective. It should mean that by the following Monday when we play Palace he is clear of the virus. Hopefully it will mean he has managed to get some days training with the team too, so fitness will be less of a concern. As well as that, his body will have been given some proper R&R and that should have him fit and raring to go in what will be a really tough Monday night game away to Palace.

I made a joke about Arsenal players dropping like flies for short term injuries over an international break, it being like the late 90s/early 2000s when Fergie’s United players used to go down with little knocks at this time of the season and of course it was tongue-in-cheek, but I won’t lie and say it was also with a little bit of a fist pump when I started to think about it. Gabriel withdrew from the squad to be with his wife who has given birth to their latest child, which means he’ll not be travelling far and hopefully is fighting fit and rested when our next Premier League game comes. Tomiyasu has been deliberately held back and thankfully Cedric has stepped up, but by Tomi now getting an extra two weeks to prepare for the Palace game, hopefully he is back and ready to pick up from where he left off against Palace. Then Saka is also going to get some rest time too. Of course there are players like Martinelli who will need to travel a fair old distance, as will Partey, so we need to keep an eye on them, but for the rest the hope is that they can all return in one piece and are ready to go. Partey and Xhaka play on Tuesday and so should be back for Wednesday, which should mean they have ample rest for the Monday night. Martinelli will be in Brazil until Thursday and so he will be the one in which more questions will be asked in terms of fitness, but we hopefully have Smith Rowe who can stay free of injury and also Pepe, who plays on Tuesday night against England, so he won’t have to do any travelling for that game.

So, I guess what I’m getting at here is that providing nobody picks up any major knocks **touches wood as he types**, we should have a team who is in pretty good shape going in to the game. That can only be good stuff.

In one final bit of semi-related Arsenal news, it seems Mesut Ozil is in the dock at Fenerbahce after a supposed bust up with the interim manager. I guess what this serves to highlight is just how much has changed from the talented guy who did so many good things in a Real Madrid and Arsenal shirt, but as we all noted when Ozil was omitted from the Arsenal squad in his final season at the club, he is clearly a guy who has his eyes other than on the football pitch and despite the cost we had to endure in shipping him out before his contract had finished, it was absolutely the right thing to do. And now he is somebody else’s problem and we are starting to move in the right direction. I’ll take that all day long, despite the admiration I had for Ozil as a player when he was in his prime with us.

Right, I think I’ll leave it there for today. Back tomorrow with some more musings. I’ve been wanting to pen some thoughts about Thomas Partey for a while, so might do that in the absence of any proper football going on.

Laters people.