Which Arsenal players are on International Duty After Recent Squad Withdrawals?

The senior picture looked one way when the March squads were first announced and another by the time camps began. Arsenal still has a strong representation across senior and youth international football, but the withdrawals of Eberechi Eze, Jurrien Timber, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel and William Saliba have cut into Mikel Arteta’s first-team contingent, while Martin Odegaard had already not been selected by Norway because of injury. Whilst Ben White received a late recall to the England squad, for the first time since 2022.

England still contains one of Arsenal’s strongest senior contingents. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Noni Madueke remain in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley. Ben White has now been added after Eze’s injury withdrawal, with England confirming on Monday that White and Harvey Barnes were called up to replace Eze and Jarell Quansah.

The small detail that matters most for Arsenal is that Rice and Saka are not due to report immediately. Tuchel has opted to stagger parts of the camp because of workload, saying he wanted to manage a “very stressful and very demanding period of time”, which should at least give Arsenal’s two most heavily used England regulars a little extra recovery time before they link up.

David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Cristhian Mosquera are all still in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad. Raya and Zubimendi arrive as part of the more established senior core, while Mosquera’s inclusion remains one of the more notable developments of the window after his first senior call-up. Spain’s official announcement for the games against Serbia and Egypt named Mosquera among the newcomers in the final international camp before the World Cup.

Brazil originally included two Arsenal representatives, but now only Gabriel Martinelli remains. Gabriel withdrew after the Carabao Cup final due to right knee pain; Brazil’s statement confirmed imaging tests showed him unfit for this FIFA window, and no replacement was named.

Martinelli is now Arsenal’s sole active player in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the friendlies against France and Croatia.

Gabriel Jesus did not make Brazil’s original squad, with Ancelotti instead naming Martinelli among the forwards for the final international break before this summer’s World Cup

Kai Havertz remains in the Germany squad, extending his involvement at the senior level. The DFB described him as one of six returnees in Julian Nagelsmann’s first World Cup-year squad, with Germany due to face Switzerland and Ghana during the March window.

Piero Hincapie remains away with Ecuador for a pair of World Cup warm-up friendlies, with his side due to face Morocco in Madrid on March 27 before taking on the Netherlands in Eindhoven on March 31.

Viktor Gyokeres has been selected by Sweden for World Cup play-off duty rather than friendlies. Sweden face Ukraine in their semi-final on March 26 and, if they progress, would then play either Poland or Albania in the final on March 31 for a place at the 2026 World Cup.

Christian Norgaard has a similar story to Denmark. He remains involved for World Cup qualifying duty, with Denmark facing North Macedonia in their semi-final and, if they come through that tie, either Czechia or the Republic of Ireland in the play-off final.

Riccardo Calafiori is the final Arsenal player involved in World Cup play-offs rather than friendlies. The left-back reportedly didn't train on joining the Italy squad due to injury, but has not been withdrawn. 

Italy face Northern Ireland in their semi-final, with a final against either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina awaiting if they progress, so they will hope Calafiori is fit enough to play a part.

The biggest change to the original senior picture is the reduced number of first-team players travelling: Eze has withdrawn from England and been replaced by White; Timber has pulled out of the Netherlands squad; Trossard is not travelling with Belgium; Gabriel is out of Brazil’s games against France and Croatia; and Saliba has withdrawn ahead of the France camp.

From Arsenal’s point of view, there is an obvious negative in the number of injuries now being managed during the break. But there is also a practical positive. The players who have withdrawn will at least avoid extra minutes, travel and workload after an already heavy schedule, and that may yet help Arteta’s squad once club football resumes. With major games still to come, the international break now feels as much about recovery as it does about call-ups.

Arsenal have three players in the England Under-21 squad: Tommy Setford, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. The trio underlines the strength of the club’s younger talent around the first-team picture.

Max Dowman and Khari Ranson have both been selected by England Under-19s. Dowman’s inclusion remains the standout one from an Arsenal perspective, given how quickly his reputation continues to grow, while Ranson’s call-up is another positive sign for the club’s goalkeeping pathway.

Dowman will again be playing above his age group as England tries to move through the UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round and into the summer finals.

Jack Porter has been named in the England Under-18 squad, adding another Arsenal youngster to the international list this month.

Marli Salmon has been selected by England Under-17s, continuing Arsenal’s strong representation right through the younger age groups.

Ceadach O’Neill has also earned a call-up for Northern Ireland Under-19s ahead of their elite-round qualifiers.