Eleven Arsenal players withdrew from their respective international teams, with Gabriel Magalhaes pulling out of the Brazil squad soon after Arsenal's Carabao 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 Carabao Cup showpiece, but will be looking to reignite their ambitions of a treble when they face Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend.

Gabriel, Saka and Rice could all feature against Southampton, but 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," the Arsenal boss said.

"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."

Arsenal's defeat to Manchester City before the international break was its first in all competitions since January, seeing it progress into the last eight of the FA Cup and UEFA 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, but 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," he added.

"It's a reflection of what the team is doing – the amount of performances and games that we are winning."

Arsenal has progressed from 14 of its past 16 FA Cup quarter-final ties, going out only in 2010-2011 to Manchester United and 2015-2016 to Watford.

The Gunners have won both of their past two meetings with Southampton in all competitions – both in the 2024-2025 Premier League – winning four in a row most recently against the Saints in February 2004.