How did Arsenal players fare on international duty this week?

Smith Rowe debut ends in despair while Aubameyang grabs a goal for Gabon - how did Arsenal players fare on international duty this week?

By Adam Le Roux

While we may not have had an Arsenal game to digest and scrutinise this weekend, there were plenty of Gunners in action across the globe on the international break.

From Gabon to Ghana and Ivory Coast to Iceland, there were players representing their countries all over the place as qualification for the 2022 World Cup began in earnest, with a mixed bag of results for the Arsenal stars.

But who impressed the most for their country over the weekend, and who will be coming back to the Emirates eager to get back to winning ways?

Emile Smith Rowe

It was a bittersweet week for Emile Smith Rowe, with the academy graduate making his England under-21 debut against Switzerland in the FIFA U21 EURO Championship in Slovenia.

In what would have been a memorable occasion for the young star, the result didn’t go his way, as Dan Ndoye struck late for the Swiss to secure a 1-0 win against Aidy Boothroyd’s side.

Smith Rowe cut a frustrated figure in Koper, as he struggled to get to grips with the game and couldn’t fashion an opening during his time on the pitch.

After being substituted just after the hour mark in that clash, he will be hoping to make more of an impact in the Young Lions’ next two matches against Portugal and Croatia

Eddie Nketiah

It was a similar story for Eddie Nketiah in Koper, with the young striker barely getting a sniff of goal during his time on the pitch against the Swiss.

The 21-year-old was repeatedly isolated up front and didn’t get a chance to stretch the opposition defence, with a number of players hounding him whenever he got the ball.

Like Smith Rowe, he didn’t complete the 90 minutes, with Boothroyd hooking him with 15 minutes left to play to be replaced by Rhian Brewster.

Cedric Soares

Cedric turned out for Portugal on Saturday, as the reigning European champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Serbia in Belgrade.

Things looked to be going swimmingly early on, as Liverpool star Diogo Jota grabbed a brace in the first half to put the visitors two goals to the good, with the Arsenal right-back laying his second on a plate with a pinpoint delivery from the flank.

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic pulled one back within a minute of the restart, before Filip Kostic levelled matters on the hour mark in a remarkable comeback for the home side.

Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had won it at the death for Portugal, with the Juventus man’s effort looking as if it had crossed the line before being cleared by a defender, but the assistant referee didn’t agree - sparking huge protests from him and his teammates.

Kieran Tierney

Arsenal’s right-back was on the wrong end of a comeback on the international stage, but the Gunners’ left-back enjoyed a turnaround of his own with Scotland.

Kieran Tierney played the whole 90 minutes for Steve Clarke’s side as they drew 2-2 with Austria at Hampden Park, with John McGinn’s late bicycle kick rescuing a draw for the hosts.

Sasa Kalajdzic opened the scoring for the visitors after the break as he reacted quickest to a David Marshall parry, before a bullet header from Grant Hanley levelled matters soon after.

Kalajdzic got his second of the game ten minutes from time with a superb header of his own, before McGinn’s acrobatics saved the day for the Scots late on.

Tierney was as reliable as ever in defence for the hosts, as he lined up on the left side of a back three with Liverpool’s Andy Robertson outside him as wing-back, so although he wasn’t bombing up and down the sidelines as often, he was still as composed as ever with the ball at his feet.

Martin Odegaard

It’s been a mixed bag for Martin Odegaard with Norway, with the 22-year-old playing the first half in his side’s 3-0 victory over Gibraltar on Wednesday before losing by the same scoreline to Turkey on Saturday.

Alexander Sorloth, Kristian Thorstvedt and Jonas Svensson all found the net in the victory over the footballing minnows in midweek, with Odegaard impressing in his 45 minutes on the pitch.

The playmaker played all 90 minutes of the clash against Turkey three days later but couldn’t make much impact on the game as an Ozan Tufan brace helped the visitors to victory.

Granit Xhaka

It was job done within 13 minutes for Switzerland against Bulgaria on Thursday, with Granit Xhaka and his side firing themselves into a 3-0 lead within the opening quarter of an hour.

Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic and Steven Zuber all found the net in the early stages to help the visitors ease to victory, while Kiril Despodov pulled one back for the hosts just after the break.

Xhaka played the full 90 minutes in Sofia, as he pulled the strings in the middle of the park in a dominant display.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

It was a brilliant day all round for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as the striker found the back of the net for Gabon in their match with Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday.

The frontman added his side’s third goal late on with a vicious effort four minutes from time, as he added to earlier strikes from Aaron Boupendza and Denis Bouanga.

Aubameyang laid the second goal of the game on a plate for Bouanga, with his inch-perfect through ball sending his teammate in one on one with the goalkeeper before the forward converted.

Gabon sit top of the World Cup qualifying group after five matches played, level on points with Gambia before facing Angola on Monday, where the Arsenal man will be looking to add more goals to his tally.

Photo Credit: Getty Images