Three Arsenal stars immediately pull out of international duty after Carabao Cup heartbreak

Arsenal will be determined to return to winning ways after the international break

Eberechi Eze, Jurrien Timber and William Saliba have all withdrawn from international duty following Arsenal's defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Nico O'Reilly fired Pep Guardiola's side to glory at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, denying the Gunners their first major trophy in almost six years.

Mikel Arteta raised eyebrows when he left Eze out of the matchday squad. The Arsenal midfielder was forced off during the second half of Wednesday night's clash against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League, but he wasn't expected to miss out on the showpiece event.

Speaking on Sky Sports prior to the game, the Gunners boss revealed Eze failed a late fitness test. Arteta said: "We tried everything [to get him fit for the game], but unfortunately he [is] out."

Then, after the game, it was confirmed that the former Crystal Palace talisman had withdrawn from the England squad due to a calf injury. The Spaniard said: "We have to do another scan in six or seven days and wait to see the results."

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Timber was also left out of the matchday squad at the weekend. The full-back suffered a knock during the win over Everton earlier this month, subsequently missing the victory against the Bundesliga outfit and the Carabao Cup final.

Speaking to Sky Sports at Wembley before the game, Arteta claimed Timber and Martin Odegaard had also failed late fitness tests. The Gunners boss said: "They couldn't make it, so I think they will still be a couple of weeks. Let's see after the international break if we have anybody back."

After the match, it was confirmed that the Netherlands international had withdrawn from Ronald Koeman's squad. An official statement from the Dutch FA read: "Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida has been added to the Netherlands national team squad by national coach Ronald Koeman.

"This follows the withdrawal of Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), who has not yet sufficiently recovered from an injury and is therefore unavailable for this international break."

Saliba, however, started and finished the Carabao Cup final. Despite playing the full 90 minutes, an hour or so after the game, the centre-back pulled out of the France squad and was replaced by Maxence Lacroix.

An official statement from the French Football Federation said: "William Saliba is unable to join the French national team's training camp, which begins this Monday, March 23. The Arsenal centre-back is suffering from recurring pain in his left ankle, requiring treatment and a minimum rest period of ten days."

Arsenal will be back in action at the start of next month when they lock horns with Southampton in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup. A few days later, the Gunners will jet off to Lisbon to face Sporting in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal.

In the meantime, the likes of Eze, Timber and Saliba will have the chance to recharge their batteries. During the international break, Arteta plans to use the heartbreak to fuel the 'most amazing two months'.

Speaking to reporters after the game, the Arsenal boss said: "I want the players to have some perspective. What this team has done in the last eight months is incredible, and we're going to use the disappointment and the fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months we ever have had together.

"That's on us, we'll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment, that's normal and it's part of football."