Premier League strugglers delighted to see the international break: Gyokeres, Wirtz | OneFootball

Whether it’s due to a lack of minutes or poor performances, the international break can provide some much-needed respite for those struggling at their club.

Most fans are annoyed when club football is rudely halted, and the first break of the season is probably the worst, especially when a major tournament only finished a couple of months ago. But it is just what the doctor ordered for some – players, not supporters.

With that in mind, here are the Premier League strugglers we think will be delighted to see the first international break of the season.

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

Jamie Carragher was scathing as he calmly tore apart the “neat and tidy” German, who should massively benefit from working with new Germany manager and Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp.

If Klopp can instil some of his heavy metal into Wirtz, Andoni Iraola and Liverpool should reap the rewards because, as Carragher said, he is not coming close to justifying the £100million the Reds paid to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen in 2025.

To say there is some Mesut Ozil about Wirtz would be an insult to the former Arsenal playmaker. Both are lightweight, German attacking midfielders, but you always felt Ozil could produce something out of nothing, despite looking mostly uninterested on the pitch.

Wirtz is the opposite of that, making himself look busy with his ‘pressures’ and overall off-the-ball movement. He is an intelligent footballer, but there is something missing. Actually, there is quite a lot missing. The lack of end product is a concern for Liverpool, and Wirtz is a player severely lacking confidence heading into the first international break of 2026/27.

Wirtz doesn’t just need a break from the Premier League and English football; he needs to learn from Klopp, who knows what it means to be a Liverpool great. Wirtz surely can’t not benefit from this extended international break. He won’t come back a different player, but a combination of Klopp’s man management and coaching should help Wirtz improve and begin fully adapting to Our League.

Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal) It’s all gone a bit sad for Gyokeres at Arsenal. He looked a little rough around the edges at the beginning of his Gunners career, but there was an improvement every week. Now that he is clearly second-choice striker behind Kai Havertz, Gyokeres looks worse every time he steps onto the pitch.

Gyokeres has only played significant minutes in the Champions League against Napoli and in the Carabao Cup at Ipswich Town, and after a completely anonymous showing in Naples, the Swede was a little more involved at Portman Road, but most of the stuff he tried did not come off as he intended.

In the 1-0 win over Napoli, Arsenal absolutely battered their hosts, registering 25 shots as a team, yet Gyokeres didn’t shoot once and only had nine touches in 73 minutes, coming off for Havertz two minutes before Martin Odegaard’s winning goal.

Not only will the international break with Sweden bring Gyokeres some proper playing time, but he will play in a system we know he thrives in under Graham Potter and next to Alexander Isak. He was excellent at the World Cup, scoring once and assisting twice across four appearances, but he has been unable to kick on at club level.

Gyokeres cuts a downbeat figure whenever he plays for Arsenal this season, and a strong Nations League showing could help him resemble something closer to the £64m striker the Gunners need him to be.

Emi Martinez (Chelsea) Martinez is a different animal for Argentina, though it will be interesting to see how those crazed animals play when they aren’t playing for and with Lionel Messi, who has retired from international football… unlike a certain over-the-hill Portuguese.

Messi will receive one final cap for his country as he bids farewell against Benin in Buenos Aires on October 6, and that occasion alone justifies any Argentine international’s inclusion, but we are more focused on the alarming number of goals Chelsea and Martinez are conceding.

Martinez recently joined Chelsea to replace the error-prone Robert Sanchez, and while we were among those to appreciate the upgrade he represents, the former Aston Villa goalkeeper’s club form has been pretty shaky for a couple of years now.

That shakiness has not left Martinez in his early weeks at Stamford Bridge, conceding three on his debut to Brighton before a couple at Arsenal, one from Kai Havertz that he should have saved, another two at home to Hull City, and then three at Brentford before the international break. He hasn’t made any notable errors, but had Sanchez put in these performances, there would have been a lot more noise.

Martinez can point some blame towards his Chelsea defenders, because Xabi Alonso’s side are awfully open, but he has not covered himself in glory and will enjoy some pressure-free friendlies with Argentina before returning to Cobham to hopefully concede fewer goals. Only three club games until Tottenham come to town, fella.

Every Tottenham player Andy Robertson is one of 13 Tottenham players called up for international duty and it’s a particularly monumental break for the Scotland captain, who should reach 100 caps.

He is currently on 97 and Scotland face Slovenia (twice), Switzerland and North Macedonia in the Nations League.

This makes it a round of fixtures to be excited for if you are Robertson, but that probably feels secondary to him considering how Tottenham’s season has started.

It’s difficult to make a case for any Spurs player not looking forward to some respite having ended matchday five bottom of the Premier League with zero wins, two draws, three defeats, two goals scored and eight conceded.

Roberto De Zerbi will hope his national team representatives come back rejuvenated and ready to win a football match. Next up? Michael Carrick’s Manchester United in the latest Premier League El Sackico.