Of course, between January 13 and February 11, the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in the Ivory Coast. And with the Group stage draw getting underway shortly, the Gunners manager is facing up to the prospect of being without Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey for up to a month if both players are called up by Egypt and Ghana respectively.
Naturally, with all the hype surrounding the draw, it's where a lot of attention has been. However, at the same time as AFCON, the 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be underway and following Japan's qualification for the tournament in Qatar, the north London outfit could also lose Takehiro Tomiyasu for a similar timeframe.
Initially pencilled in to be held in China during the summer, in May 2022 it was announced that they would not host the tournament due to the Covid-19 situation in the country. Following confirmation in October that the tournament would instead be played in Qatar, dates for the 24-team competition were revealed in early April, with the Asian Cup now commencing on Friday, January 12 and drawing to a conclusion on Saturday, February 10.
Japan have been drawn in Group D alongside Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam with the latter being their first opponents at the Khalifa International Stadium on Sunday, January 14.
If Hajime Moriyasu's side manage to reach the final then Arteta could potentially be without his versatile defender for a total of six games across all competitions. However, that will all depend on when exactly Tomiyasu departs for the tournament and how Arsenal fare in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.Not having Tomiyasu available for selection could pose a problem as his temporary departure would leave Arsenal with Benjamin White and Oleksandr Zinchenko as the senior options at full-back for a month that will involve four Premier League fixtures and potentially two domestic cup ties.
Although, given Zinchenko's not-so-great injury record, a problem at left-back could arise, especially as the Japan international has been used in this position fairly often so far this season - making a telling contribution in the 1-0 win over Manchester City at the weekend.
With that said, Arteta did have one eye on Tomiyasu's likely call-up as he completed a deal for Jurrien Timber in the summer transfer window and the Dutchman started the opening game of the season at left-back. But an ACL injury will sideline him for the majority of the campaign which means Jakub Kiwior is the likely option to cover for Zinchenko at left-back if the Gunners' No.18 is needed elsewhere in January.
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