The final international break of 2024 is about to come to a close, signalling the start of the winter run and months of uninterrupted Arsenal.

It has been a rocky start to the season with difficult fixtures, injuries and red cards leading to a mixed bag of results.

Currently, Arsenal occupy fourth place in the Premier League table with five wins, four draws and two losses - at Bournemouth and Newcastle - but they find themselves sitting nine points behind Liverpool at the top.

Wins away at Tottenham and Aston Villa have been the highlights of the season, with draws against Manchester City and Liverpool also proving solid results.

But too many draws and those losses have caused the Gunners to fall behind on points.

The attack has not been as fluid as it has been over recent years with the lengthy absence of influential playmaker Martin Odegaard but the captain is back and firing having picked up an assist on his return in the 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

In the revamped Champions League, Arsenal currently sit 12th on seven points, having beaten Paris Saint Germain along the way.

As with the Premier League, the Gunners have already played the majority of their difficult games with Sporting away, Monaco at home, Dinamo Zagreb at home, and Girona away left to face.

While there are no easy games in Europe, the Gunners are in a strong position to at least qualify and should be in with a good chance of qualifying automatically in the top eight.

The EFL Cup has been the most positive competition so far with the Gunners sailing through to the quarter-finals for a tie against Crystal Palace having beaten lower league sides Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End along the way.

Coming back from the break, Arsenal entertain Nottingham Forest at the Emirates on Saturday at 3pm looking to close the points gap.

Chris Wood’s eight goals have fired Forest up into fifth, level on points with Mikel Arteta's men, so it will be a tough test coming back from the break.

However, the Gunners should have a mostly fit side available, so it’s time to get back to winning ways.