While the Premier League campaign has come to a pause, there is no rest for a large contingent of our squad as they have received call-ups to their national teams.
10 of our players are heading to the World Cup and some are involved in friendly action before the tournament kicks off on Sunday, but for others there is a chance to build towards the future.
The highlight of the week from a Gunners perspective is Thursday's meeting between Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey, as Switzerland face Ghana in a World Cup warm-up in Abu Dhabi. Our pair of midfielders will be looking to gain some essential sharpness ahead of their tournament openers a week later, when Granit will lead the Swiss out against Cameroon while Thomas could be in line to face Portugal.
On the same date, there will also be a chance for Takehiro Tomiyasu to try and build some match fitness as Japan meet Canada in Dubai. Our full-back has missed the past three matches after picking up a knock against FC Zuirch in the Europa League, but Mikel Arteta has suggested he'll be OK to play his part in Qatar.
Before those games, on Wednesday Kieran Tierney will be looking to add to his 34 caps when Scotland travel to Turkey for a friendly game in Diyarbakir, while Karl Hein has been selected for Estonia's Baltic Cup campaign - a four-team tournament featuring Latvia, Lithuania and Iceland. Karl will be looking to progress to Saturday's final when his nation face Latvia in Riga.
Martin Odegaard will also lead Norway into a pair of friendlies this week - first making the short trip to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, before heading back to his homeland for a friendly against fellow Scandinavians Finland.
Meanwhile, Fabio Vieria has been selected for Portugal's under-21 squad, who will take on the Czech Republic on Friday, as part of a pair of games in Portimao where they will also host Japan for days later.
Full list of our international call-ups this week:
Wednesday, November 16
Turkey v Scotland (Tierney)
Friendly, Diyarbakir Stadium, Turkey
5pm
Latvia v Estonia (Hein)
Baltic Cup, Daugava Stadium, Latvia
5pm
Thursday, November 17
Ghana (Partey) v Xhaka (Switzerland)
Friendly, Abu Dhabi, UAE
10am
Japan (Tomiyasu) v Canada
Friendly, Dubai, UAE
1.40pm
Republic of Ireland v Norway (Odegaard)
Friendly, Aviva Stadium, Ireland
7.45pm
Friday, November 18
Portugal U21s (Vieira) v Czech Republic
Friendly, Estadio Municipal de Portimao, Portugal
7.15pm
Saturday, November 19
Estonia (Hein) v TBC
Baltic Cup, Tallinn, Estonia
TBC
Sunday, November 20
Norway (Odegaard) v Finland
Friendly, Ullevaal Stadion, Norway
1pm
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