Premier League: Is the international break good for your team?

Premier League leaders Arsenal head into the international break in a strong position with a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, despite having played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side.

But with their next league game not postponed until April 11 when they host Bournemouth, it could take a long time to shake off their League Cup final loss to City.

They won’t be completely without games until then, as they play Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4 and then Sporting in the Champions League quarter-finals on April 7 – but even nearly two weeks is a long time to talk about.

“They haven’t lost in 14 games, so it’s about how they react to this loss,” former Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul told BBC Radio 5 live.

“Obviously the nerves were there because it was so close [to winning the Premier League] In the past few years.

“If they keep calm in the next few weeks, the club’s reaction will be very important.

“They still have City away in April and that will be a huge title game.”

For Manchester City’s players, this may present a different problem as they will be itching to keep their momentum going.

“It’s a blow for them and we need to build on it and get some momentum from this win now,” said Nico O’Reilly, who scored City’s two goals in the League Cup final.

“Once the international break is over, we need to start and fight hard.

“who knows [whether it will dent Arsenal’s momentum]I don’t know how they feel. “Obviously they will be upset because they didn’t win the title.”