Mikel Arteta came to the defence of his Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty during the March break, insisting the national teams came to the right conclusions.
Eleven Arsenal players withdrew from their respective international teams, with Gabriel Magalhaes pulling out of the Brazil squad soon after Arsenal’s EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City, while his defensive partner William Saliba did not join France’s camp.
England duo Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice did not play for the Three Lions before returning to Arsenal, while Piero Hincapie suffered an injury while on duty with Ecuador.
The Gunners’ quadruple hopes came to an abrupt end in the EFL Cup showpiece, but they will be looking to reignite their ambitions of a treble when they face Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Gabriel, Saka and Rice could all feature against Southampton, though Arteta shut down any claims of the players’ returning early to focus on club football.
“We have very good relationship and communication with most of the national teams – certainly with [England manager] Thomas [Tuchel] too,” said the Arsenal boss.
“We have been extremely supportive all the time. When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was.”
Mikel Arteta has won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for March
Congratulations to Mikel and his team
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 3, 2026
Arsenal’s defeat to Man City before the break was their first in all competitions since January, seeing them progress into the last eight of the FA Cup and Champions League in that time, while building a healthy nine-point gap at the league summit.
Arteta was named Premier League Manager of the Month for March, though he felt it was a reflection of the team’s performances rather than his own.
“It means we’ve won a lot of games during an important and crucial part of the game, so it’s a good team effort,” added Arteta.
“It’s a reflection of what the team is doing – the amount of performances and games that we are winning.”
Arsenal have progressed from 14 of their last 16 FA Cup quarter-final ties, going out only in 2010-11 to Manchester United and 2015-16 to Watford.
The Gunners have won both of their last two meetings with Southampton in all competitions (both in the 2024-25 Premier League), last winning three in a row against the Saints in February 2004 (four).
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