Mounting Arsenal withdrawals should force FIFA to rethink international breaks

After Martin Zubimendi's withdrawal from the Spain squad, a total of 11 Arsenal players have now either pulled out of international duty or left their national teams' training camps ahead of the run-in. It's sparked a debate over the players' commitment to their countries and fuelled accusations that Arsenal are pressuring federations to send their stars home early. But is anyone surprised?

The Gunners are entering the biggest period in their recent history, with a famous Treble still on the cards. Arsenal's next five fixtures include three cup quarter-finals and a potential Premier League title decider.

Like it or not, of course players whose nations are only involved in friendlies this month are going to extra careful. On the other hand, Riccardo Calafiori and Viktor Gyokeres will be doing everything in their power to help Italy and Sweden respectively in their World Cup qualifying play-off finals.

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Of those to return to London Colney, including Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, their own countries might feel that they're better off back at their clubs so as not to jeopardise their long-term fitness ahead of the World Cup. It's also worth noting that we'll only discover the extent of Arsenal's injury woes when their line-up against Southampton is announced on Saturday night.

But one thing is for sure: FIFA can't continue to have an international break so late in the standard European season, or football will continue to eat itself alive. The international calendar is chock-a-block at the best of times, but when you're shoving vital play-off matches and dead-rubber friendlies between the knockout phases of club competitions, something needs to be done.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice of Arsenal interact during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on March 01, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice only spent a day at the England camp(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

FIFA have already shown their willingness to adapt by merging the September and October breaks into a three-week long window, the first of which we'll see later this year. This will prevent the majority of top-level domestic leagues in Europe from pausing three times in as many months.

The change will give international managers an extended chunk of time to work with their players, and I've got a feeling we'll see fewer players pulling out when they know a club fixture isn't just a few days away. So - without counting any chickens before they've hatched - how about merging the November and March breaks, too?

Let's go for the middle of February, sufficient time after clubs' winter breaks and, in this hypothetical scenario, before the Champions League knockouts. It'd allow the end of a qualifying cycle to flow straight into the play-offs, and instead of fans scrambling to plan for a summer tournament with just over two months' notice, they'd have significantly longer.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 06: Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 official match schedule announcement on December 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

FIFA have been accused of pushing players to their limits(Image: Tasos Katopodis - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

There are obvious logistical hurdles in having the play-offs take place straight after qualifying, but there should be enough brains within FIFA and the different confederations that venues can be pre-booked. And speaking of venues, surely it makes more sense for play-off matches to take place at neutral ones rather than giving some teams home advantage based on a draw?

Granted, there'll no doubt be complaints from Premier League obsessives about having a longer break than usual. But at least punters would only moan twice a season instead of four times.

Simply put, FIFA can't continue to squeeze in an international window at a pressure point of the season when they're already squeezing players and staff to their limits with their gluttony of fixtures. Don't blame Arsenal, blame the game.