International Watch: Which Arsenal Star’s Are Set To Feature For Their Nations

As we prepare for the first round of fixtures during this international break, Gooner Daily previews which Arsenal’s players will be in action.

The international break couldn’t have come in a better time for Arsene Wenger and his team. They just went through a gruelling week winning two tough fixtures before a lethargic performance at Old Trafford.

With no Premier League football this weekend, all eyes are firmly fixed on the international set of fixtures across the globe and as expected, Arsenal has its fair share of players representing their nations.

In the crucial World Cup qualifier between Ukraine and France, Didier Deschamps has called up Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna. Giroud has been in fine form this season and he has notched up eight goals thus far, while Koscielny and Sagna have been consistent in Arsenal’s defense all season long.

With World Cup qualification already in the bag, England has called up Jack Wilshere for the friendly matches against Chile and Germany at Wembley. The club has asked Roy Hodgson and his cohorts to play Wilshere in one of the two available games, and it looks like the midfielder will start tonight against Chile.

Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil have been called up by Joachim Low for the friendly ties against Italy and England away. Ozil could do with a rest and with both parties involved in the friendly assured of their World Cup berths, I hope to see a relatively clam encounter – although Germany will be desperate to end their hoodoo that’s seen them fail to beat the Italians in 18 years.

Aaron Ramsey has been on red hot form this season and it’s no surprise that he has been called up by the Welsh national team for a friendly against Finland. Wojciech Szczesny has also been called up for Poland’s fixtures against Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland although he is a slight injury doubt after pulling up in training with an ankle problem.

Even though the games are hard to come by for Thomas Vermaelen this season, he played all 90 mjnutes in their shock home defeat to a Radamel Falcao-inspired Colombia on Thursday night. He’s going to play in their next fixture against Japan that comes up next week.

Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal were called up for Spain’s tour of Africa as the World Champions take on Equatorial Guinea and South Africa. Tomas Rosicky has also been called up by the Czech Republic national team for a friendly against Canada, while Nicklas Bendtner takes part of the Scandinavian derby against Norway.

At Under-21 level, Carl Jenkinson was part of the England U-21 team that dispatched Finland’s U-21s and he’ll be odds on to start for Gareth Southgate ‘s side against San Marino’s U-21s.

Let’s hope that these players would go through their respective fixtures unscathed.

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