The Premier League season may only be a few weeks old but the first international break of the campaign is upon us and will disrupt the schedule.

It remains to be seen whether it has come at a right time for Arsenal, as the Gunners are looking to put together a run of form after ending their winless streak last week with a 3-1 triumph against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.

Danny Welbeck, who earns £115,000-a-week according to The Telegraph, made his return off the bench in that game, scoring Arsenal’s final goal, and has been named amongst Gareth Southgate’s squad for the UEFA Nations League clash with Spain and the friendly against Switzerland.

Welbeck has been a regular fixture for the Three Lions in recent years but only earned a handful of appearances at the World Cup, as he faces a battle to establish himself as a regular starter for club and country in the months ahead.

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He retains the support of Arsenal fans though as they shared their reactions to his call-up on social media. We have gathered some of the best responses below.

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Liverpool splashed the cash this summer with the additions of goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Fabinho.

And while Alisson has made an impact at Anfield — both for the right and wrong reasons — Fabinho is yet to feature in a competitive fixture for his new club.

The Breakdown

Manager Jurgen Klopp has made it clear he will not throw Fabinho into his Liverpool starting XI until he has fully adapted to his new surroundings (via ESPN), but the Brazilian has since sent out a message to his boss.

“My start has been good, good adaptation. The pre-season was very good, we had nine friendlies and I played nine,” Fabinho told Globo Esporte (via Daily Mail).

“It was good to play against English teams to see what the rhythm, the intensity and the physique is like. I am adapting to the team’s style of play. The more experienced players have helped me, the technical team as well.”

Fabinho’s words clearly indicate he feels he is ready for some Premier League minutes. And, while there is no doubt that the former AS Monaco man has plenty to offer to his new club, Klopp has no reason to hastily chuck him into the deep end if he does not think he is ready.

With James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and the arrival of Naby Keita, Klopp has very good midfield options who can afford him with the time to slowly integrate Fabinho into the team.

Given how well Liverpool have also started the season, there simply is not a reason for Klopp to start chopping and changing things.

Therefore, Fabinho will have to be patient, bide his time and, ultimately, trust his manager.

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Southampton club captain Steven Davis has found first-team minutes hard to come by under Mark Hughes so far this season with so much competition for places in midfield, but his latest display for Northern Ireland suggested he can still play a key role for the south coast outfit.

The 33-year-old has been at St Mary’s for six years having signed when the club returned to the Premier League, and while he has been a regular during that time – he has made 221 appearances for them – he has found game time especially hard to come by in recent months under Mark Hughes, recently admitting his frustrations in an interview via The Daily Mail.

The experienced midfielder failed to make the 18-man squad for the opening two Premier League matches of this term, and while he did make the bench for the clashes against Leicester City and Crystal Palace most recently, he failed to get on to the pitch.

That said, he did play 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup success against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium last month, and he will hope to break into the starting XI soon even if he does face competition from the likes of Mario Lemina, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong for a spot in the side.

He certainly did his chances no harm in his country’s 2-1 defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, which was a match they largely dominated despite the scoreline.

Davis rolled back the years as he led his team superbly and showed some real drive and energy in the middle of the park, and as well as producing three shots and two key passes, he also provided six crosses for his teammates from his 86 touches in total, as per WhoScored.com.

The 33-year-old faces a fight to break into a Southampton XI that has improved in recent weeks, but he is showing that he is willing to battle and is right to feel frustrated at a lack of Premier League minutes right now.

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Leeds United have started the 2018/19 Championship campaign exceptionally, picking up 14 points from their opening six league fixtures of the season and sitting joint top of the division with fellow unbeaten side Middlesbrough.

What’s the issue?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have excelled this season thus far, but some question marks still remain over the goalkeeping situation at Elland Road.

Whilst Bailey Peacock-Farrell has only conceded four goals in the opening six matches of the campaign, a number of mistakes by the shot stopper have come close to costing Leeds the position they find themselves in today.

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Peacock-Farrell was at fault for Derby County’s goal earlier this season and could arguably have done better with first goal at the Liberty Stadium.

There is no question that the 21-year-old is a talented player with a bright future ahead of him, but the signing of a reliant pair of hands between the sticks might just be enough to get Leeds United through the business end of the season, and into the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

What can Tom Heaton bring to Elland Road?

Tom Heaton started last season as Burnley’s number one shot stopper, but following a severe dislocated shoulder injury, he spent the majority of the Premier League campaign on the touchlines, making just four appearances.

Replacement goalie Nick Pope excelled between the sticks at Turf Moor, guiding the Clarets to European football for the first time in 51 years and securing his place in the Burnley starting lineup.

After an injury to Pope, Sean Dyche’s side acquired fellow England international Joe Hart, meaning Tom Heaton now finds himself vying for places against two top goalkeepers.

As a result, Heaton may struggle for game time this season, and could benefit from a spell out on loan from January, when Pope is expected to return.

Leeds United could offer the three-cap Englishman first team football and potentially success, whilst the Whites would be acquiring a goalkeeper of international experience to help guide them through the toughest stage of the Championship season.

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Mauricio Pochettino has claimed he could be sacked by Tottenham following a poor run of form, as quoted by The Daily Mirror.

What’s the word?

Losing back-to-back Premier League matches against Watford and Liverpool either side of the international break raised the pressure on Tottenham, who then threw away a lead at the San Siro to lose 2-1 to Inter Milan in their first Champions League match.

That poor run of form has seen Spurs lose three consecutive matches under Mauricio Pochettino for the first time and has significantly raised the pressure on the North London side, who could face a mountain to climb in Europe as their next game is against Barcelona.

Spurs have three domestic games before their hosting of the La Liga champions to rekindle form, facing Brighton and Huddersfield in the Premier League either side of a Carabao Cup clash with Watford – all of which seem winnable on paper.

However, Pochettino is quoted by The Daily Mirror as stating he could be sacked if things do not start to improve.

What was said?

“I am going to stick with the club, I am not going to criticise the club. All the decisions are our decisions and of course always with the club until the end. Maybe we are still here in five years or maybe in one week we are not here, but we will always be talking well about the club and helping them to achieve all they want.

“The only way we can stop that [criticism] is winning games and if we don’t win, everyone is going to criticise more than now. And you know what is going to happen when we don’t win games — the first responsible is me.

“I am so relaxed. In football, something can happen with the situation but I am going to give my best until the end.”

Could it happen?

Three defeats on the spin for a side like Tottenham is always going to raise concern but the alarm bells in North London should remain silent for the time being, as it can only take a couple of weeks for the picture to become bright again.

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The upcoming games prior to the huge Champions League clash with Barcelona give Spurs a huge chance to rekindle their form and it is crucial they take that opportunity, as a continued poor sequence of results could leave Pochettino sat by the trapdoor.

Given Spurs’ tremendous rise under Pochettino, it seems scandalous to suggest that his position could be under threat but that is the reality of football. However, it seems unlikely that Daniel Levy would sack and pay off a manager he knows he could get a huge compensation fee for from another club in the future.

Marko Arnautovic has become a talismanic figure at West Ham United, and it is easy to see why.

After a slow start, the Austrian international racked up 11 goals and six assists in the Premier League last season.

In the current campaign, the attacker has already netted four times and provided one assist in six outings.

Arnautovic has become a reliable goalscorer for the Hammers, which makes it that much more concerning when injury problems strike.

The 29-year-old missed the club’s recent goalless draw with Chelsea due to a knee problem, but he returned last Saturday for a home clash against Manchester United.

Arnautovic played 83 minutes and scored in the 3-1 triumph, but he later admitted that he is still suffering from pain in his knee.

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The Daily Mail quotes the forward as saying:

“The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”

West Ham fans have reacted to the quotes on Reddit, with some making suggestions for who could come into the fold should Arnautovic miss a game or two.

One fan even suggested that Manuel Pellegrini needs injury-plagued Andy Carroll to return.

The striker has not played a minute of competitive action this season and in the 2017-18 campaign started just seven Premier League matches.

Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.Comment from discussion Arnautovic pn playing through pain-barrier: “The medical staff are talking to me, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not. It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s gone.”.

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Lots of Liverpool fans have been reacting to their disappointing performance in Naples, and they’re really not happy with young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool put in undoubtedly their worst performance of the season on Wednesday night, losing 1-0 to an organised Napoli team.

The Reds went to Naples sitting top of group C, but the defeat in Naples means anything less than six points in their upcoming fixtures against Red Star Belgrade could put them in serious trouble.

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While the entire team was pretty poor, fans are particularly disappointed with Alexander-Arnold, who hasn’t quite hit the heights of last season so far in this campaign.

The 19-year-old was extremely wasteful in possession on Wednesday night, completing just 72 per cent of his passes.

He also didn’t managed a single tackle, and struggled mightily with the constant counter attacks down that flank.

While there’s no question the teenager is still Klopp’s first choice at right-back, his performance was very worrying, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Tottenham are ready to join the scrap for the services of in-demand PSV Eindhoven winger Hirving Lozano, The Mirror reports.

What’s the word?

Mauricio Pochettino has seen his Tottenham side struggle at stages this season due to a lack of depth and seems to be ready to rectify his summer mistake of not signing any new additions when the window reopens in January.

The Lilywhites are set to join a major fight in the transfer market for the services of in-demand PSV Eindhoven winger Hirving Lozano, The Mirror reports, as the 23-year-old has caught the attention of the club’s scouts.

Lozano, who starred for Mexico at the World Cup, has also courted the attention of Barcelona and PSV are preparing for the player’s departure next year as they seek to earn around £25m from his sale.

Should Spurs move?

While Tottenham have Son Heung-Min, Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura as options in the wide positions, all of whom have proven their worth this season, the opportunity to sign a player like Lozano does not come around often.

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Spurs should also find encouragement by the fact that Barcelona will struggle to secure a move due to the fact that regulations mean they can only have three non-EU players registered in their squad – with those slots taken by Philippe Coutinho, Arthur and Malcom.

Pochettino should, therefore, be able to beat the LaLiga champions in the running to secure the 23-year-old who has already scored seven goals this season in PSV’s thrilling start, which suggests that a fee of £25m could be a bargain.

Petr Cech has been a scapegoat at Arsenal over the last few years, make no mistake. He’s not been at his best for a while, and whilst he has undoubtedly cost the Gunners points, it’s fair to say that he’s not the only problem at the Emirates. 

Indeed, replacing the goalkeeper is not the only thing that Unai Emery needs to do at Arsenal, nor is it the most pressing task at hand. Rather, major concerns still remain in the Arsenal defence, and one player that is sure to cost the Gunners points over the course of the season is Shkodran Mustafi.

Of course, you could point towards Arsenal’s long 9-game winning streak as proof that the Gunners are on the right track, and whilst that’s certainly been true of much of the team, there have been signs of concern at the back. Arsenal’s defence has looked poor at points, and there have been more than a few games in which they’ve only been able to avoid conceding by the skin of their teeth.

Mustafi, in particular, has regularly been at fault. He’s been far from faultless during his time at Arsenal, and it’s fair to say that inconsistency has been a real problem at the club for a while now. On his day, he’s as solid as a rock, but the German is far too often a problem at the back.

Mistimed tackles, a lack of concentration and rash decision-making, Mustafi is not yet a player that Emery can consistently rely upon.

It’s no surprise that Arsenal conceded against top Premier League teams like Chelsea and Man City, and a good run against mid-level teams should not take away from the problems that are present in the Arsenal attack. Mustafi, in particular, is a real worry. The 2 errors leading to a goal that he made last season could grow even higher this year, at least judging by his early season performances.

Arsenal have a ready-made solution to the Cech problem in Bernd Leno, but they have no such replacement for Mustafi.

Not many people had given Manchester United a chance of coming away with a point in their clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but now most United fans might feel they were unlucky for not picking up the full three points over Maurizio Sarri’s side.

What’s the situation?

José Mourinho’s men gave their fans something to be positive about for the first time in a while by fronting up to the Chelsea challenge on Saturday. One win from their previous five matches wasn’t the best record heading into an encounter with a team that hasn’t lost a match so far this season and when defender Antonio Rudiger gave the Blues the lead before half-time many might have thought this could be the last time Mourinho is seen as the manager of United.

But an inspired second half-half performance by the Red Devils provided some much-needed relief for the Portuguese manager. Two goals by winger Anthony Martial gave United a surprising lead and it looked as if the team was going to hang on for a famous win, but an equalising goal by Ross Barkley deep into extra-time meant Chelsea walked away with their unbeaten record still intact, while United certainly gave their fans something to proud about for a change.

This could turn United’s season around

The fixtures don’t get much easier for United this week with Italian giants Juventus paying them a Champions League visit at Old Trafford on Tuesday, before they host Everton in the Premier League on Sunday. However, Saturday’s result at Chelsea could blast new life into the United squad.

The performance against Sarri’s men showed that Mourinho and United aren’t as down and out as many would’ve thought a few weeks ago. The fans’ chanting of the manager’s name throughout the game at a place where he won three league titles, emphasised the loyalty and backing they still have in him. For them, Mourinho is still the man to take them forward and picking up points at Chelsea this season is something many teams and managers will only dream about.

United should now use that confidence to put up even more of a fight against Juventus, as well as against Everton, while the courage that was on display should be their key ingredient to continue to deliver positive performances for the rest of the season.