Another international break just three games into the brand new Premier League season has left club fans waiting anxiously for their teams to get back underway having been deprived over the summer. The European Championships and Copa America helped to tide over those desperate for some football, but the Nations League has so far lacked the same effect.

Arsenal again will be sitting with fingers crossed that their 12 players currently away on duty return unscathed. Too many times have issues arose while the players are indeed away with their respective nations.

Gabriel Jesus suffered a serious knee injury during the Qatar World Cup, while Thomas Partey has had issues with Ghana. Mikel Arteta will be hoping that this time, he keeps a clean bill of health besides the existing issues he is dealing with in his squad.

England recently announced that Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Ollie Watkins had all pulled out ahead of the Three Lions’ games with the Republic of Ireland and Finland. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice remain part of the squad and are expected to be part of Lee Carsley’s setup.

Both played starring roles in England’s run to the Euro 2024 final and then had a short three-week break before being thrown right back into pre-season with Arsenal ahead of another long season. A new campaign with even more games has been launched with the expanded UEFA Champions League first phase.

Questions continue to be asked about the number of games that the players expected to take part in. The relevant effect on injury risk and fatigue is a continuing discussion, and one which the Gunners have certainly suffered from.

 

Therefore, from a personal perspective, I’d like to propose a solution. It relates specifically to the September international break and the ability of managers and head coaches to call up certain players.

Of all the breaks, the September period is certainly the one on the calendar which appears the most suitable for experimentation. Either as a rule or policy, only calling up players who were either not in the squad for the respective summer tournaments or who played under a certain number of minutes in the tournaments should be able to be selected.

Regular starters would be given a much-needed break and furthermore, coaches are encouraged to give opportunities to more players who would usually not get the chance to play at the international level. A policy for England may indeed see them disadvantaged for the Nations League game, but it would bring far more benefits later down the line and for the upcoming summer competitions, especially in a tournament year