Arsenal and England stars Bukayo Saka, Ben White, and Aaron Ramsdale will face Senegal in the World Cup last 16 on Sunday evening, with USA’s Matt Turner also qualifying for the next round.

England sealed their progress as Group B winners after a 3-0 victory over rivals Wales on Tuesday night, although all three of the Gunners players remained unused substitutes.

Saka had appeared in the opening two games, scoring twice against Iran, but Phil Foden was given the start this time by Gareth Southgate and found the net himself.

Turner, meanwhile, started in goal for the USA during their 1-0 win over Iran to continue his strong showing at the tournament, as they booked a date with the Netherlands on Saturday. 

William Saliba’s France, and Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli’s Brazil have already secured a place in the knockout stages, and over the coming days we will find out whether Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland, Thomas Partey’s Ghana, and Japan’s Takehiro Tomiyasu also make it through, with all three set to play decisive games. 

France and Brazil just need to avoid defeat to qualify top of their respective groups. A win for each of Switzerland, Ghana, and Japan will see them qualify, but Japan, in particular, face a tough game against group leaders Spain.

It has been a relatively quiet tournament for Arsenal’s players so far, something which Mikel Arteta and supporters will not mind too much as they keep one eye on the second half of the club season.

Back in London, the Gunners players not at the World Cup have started to return to training and are set to face Watford in a friendly at London Colney this week, with the likes of Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Eddie Nketiah set to feature.

After the game, Arsenal will be jetting off to Dubai for warm weather training as well as facing Alexandre Lacazette’s Lyon on December 8 and AC Milan on December 13 ahead of a December 17 clash against Juventus at the Emirates.

Arsenal’s FA Cup third round opponents have also been decided this week, with the Gunners set to travel to Kassam Stadium to play League One side Oxford United in early January.

And despite the busy schedule when the domestic season resumes, Arteta will be keen to put in a better display than the side did in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season, when they were beaten at home by top-flight rivals Brighton.