Arsenal has already granted Kieran and Martin Odegaard an uplift in the wake of the Premier League official declaration
Mikel Arteta has been given a boost, with Arsenal likely to be missing a slew of senior players when the 2022/23 season is halted in November for the winter World Cup.
On Thursday morning, Arsenal revealed their Premier League fixture list for 2022/23. For the second year in a row, they'll begin the new season away from home on a Friday night in London.
The Gunners were soundly beaten 2-0 at newly-promoted Brentford last August, and this time they return to a ground that may still bring back bad memories from last season with a visit to Selhurst Park to take on a Crystal Palace side that won the previous match 3-0.
Aside from the opening game, the Premier League fixtures announcement was a little different this year, with no games scheduled after November 12 until Boxing Day, when Arsenal hosts West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium.
Of course, the World Cup is usually held in the summer, but according to FIFA's major announcement from over a decade ago, the biggest tournament in football has been moved from its June-July slot to the winter due to the intense heat in Qatar during the summer.
As a result, the World Cup in 2022 will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 During this time, the Premier League season will be suspended before resuming on December 26, allowing the 2022/23 season to end a little later than usual on May 28, 2023.
Despite the mid-season break and knowing the dates for a while, the timing of the tournament is unlikely to go down well with many Premier League managers, including Mikel Arteta, who will be without some key players for up to a month and there's no guarantee he'll get them back in the same shape they left in.
The Spaniard is currently without Aaron Ramsdale, Benjamin White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka, and Emile Smith Rowe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba if they are called up by their respective nations for up to a month
If Bernd Leno and Lucas Torreira are still at the club in November, they could be on the plane to Qatar, while Eddie Nketiah, who has represented England at various youth levels, could also be on the plane.
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