The Gunners do not return to action until a trip to Wolves on February 10.
After Sunday’s Premier League clash with bottom club Burnley, Arsenal will travel to Dubai as Mikel Arteta aims to have the “best possible” break to get a fully fit squad.
This season, the Gunners are in the mix for a top-four finish but have suffered a dip in form with several key players unavailable.
A mixture of injuries, positive coronavirus cases, suspension and the Africa Cup of Nations has left Arteta with depleted ranks – leading to the postponement of last weekend’s north London derby at Tottenham.
Burnley have also struggled with numbers of late, and the Clarets have not played a league game since January 2.
Arsenal has yet to win in 2022, losing in the last seconds to runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City on New Year’s Day before a defeat at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round.
That was followed by a goalless draw at Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, with the Reds winning the second leg 2-0 on Thursday night.
Asked how much Arsenal needed a break, Arteta replied: “It is why we want to play on Sunday because we want to take away the disappointment of Thursday and the best way to do that is to play and perform and win.
“It is always a big challenge to play against Burnley, and the experience we have with that team, it’s always that they do well what they do.
“They cause a lot of difficulties in the match, and we’re going to have to be ready to compete and play the game we want to against them.
“After that, we have the break, we know that, and we use it in the best possible way to get back the number of players we need to compete at this level.”
Part of that break will be in the Middle East with a planned warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
Arsenal does not return to action until February 10, but a behind-closed-doors friendly is on the schedule upon their return.
