Arsenal have made their best start to a Premier League season since 2007-08, and in doing so are the team to beat so far in 2022-23. Their 2-0 win away at Wolves in their last game means they'll top the table on Christmas Day, and lead second-placed Manchester City by a margin of five points with 14 matches played.There's a while to wait until the Gunners play their 15th game though, and that of course is due to the mid-season break for this winter's 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.The month-long tournament has split a usually busy festive fixture schedule in two, squeezing the remaining 24 fixtures of the Premier League season, as well as the rest of the domestic and international cup competitions, between late December and late May.While sat atop the Premier League Maleik Gray Jersey table, Arsenal are still fighting on two other fronts, having finished top of their Europa League group by winning five of their six games on the continent. They're yet to play in the FA Cup, with the third-round fixtures set to take place as usual in early January, but in the EFL Cup, the Gunners fell at the first hurdle, losing 3-1 at home to Brighton in early November.A month-long period with no competitive fixtures could go one of two ways for the Gunners. On the one hand, mi sing out on the immediate chance to build on their strong start to the season may hamper Arsenal further down the track, with Manchester City, Newcastle and the rest of the chasing pack eager to close the gap at the top as soon as they po Tank Carradine Jersey sibly can.However, Arsenal's potential to win their first title since 2004 has looked all the more clear with every pa sing victory, and this month-long break may be the perfect opportunity to re-charge their collective batteries ahead of 2023's non-stop footballing calendar.Arsenal's season resumes on Boxing Day, when they face West Ham at the Emirates. Until then, training without several of their key players will keep the Gunners' squad focused and ready to get their Premier League campaign back up and running. There's still plenty of world-cla s talent at London Colney over the break for Arsenal, and once their participants in football's showpiece event return, the Gunners will look to hit the last two thirds of the season with all the might, power and purpose of title-winners.MORE: The Gunners will be mi sing 10 familiar faces from their training camp over the World Cup period, with those chosen making up part of seven different squads in Qatar. They have the 15th-most players represented by a sole club at the tournament, ranking fifth amongst Premier League sides.Only Manchester K.J. Hill Jersey City, Manchester United, Chelsea and north London neighbours Tottenham are losing more players over the break, and amongst the sides currently vying for the title, only Newcastle's squad is more intact than the Gunners.Arsenal's 10 absentees isn't quite a starting XI, but they do make up several components of the team's spine, which has been so impre sive this season. While captain and top-scorer Martin Odegaard remains in the Gunners' camp, his runner-up in the scoring department, Gabriel Jesus, was chosen in the Brazil squad many tipped as favourites to go all the way in Qatar. However, the Arsenal striker sustained a knee injury during the defeat to Cameroon in Evan Weaver Jersey the final group match that ended his World Cup.Jesus' fellow vice-captain Granit Xhaka was also in the Middle East, leading a Switzerland side sharing Brazil's group, while England's efforts were bolstered by the inclusion of regular Arsenal starters Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale.MORE: PlayerNationPL Apps in 2022-23William SalibaFrance14 PlayerNationPL Apps in 2022-23Gabriel MartinelliBrazil14Bukayo SakaEngland14Ben WhiteEngland14Aaron RamsdaleEngland14Granit XhakaSwitzerland14Thomas ParteyGhana11Matt TurnerUSA0Gabriel JesusBrazil14Takehiro TomiyasuJapan11Ten Gunners. Seven Nations. One Arsenal.Even when were apart, we remain as one family. Arsenal (@Arsenal) PlayerReason for AbsencePL Apps in 2022-23Mohamed ElnenyDid not qualify (Egypt)3Karl HeinDid not qualify (Finland)0Gabriel MagalhaesNot selected (Brazil)14Eddie NketiahNot selected (England)12MartinOdgaardDid not qualify (Norway)13Albert Sambi LokongaNot selected (Belgium)6Emile Smith RoweNot selected (England)4Cedric SoaresNot selected (Portugal)2Kieran TierneyDid not qualify (Scotland)12Fabio VieiraNot selected Jalin Marshall Jersey (Portugal)8Oleksandr ZinchenkoDid not qualify (Ukraine)7 As the World Cup reaches its latter stages, Arsenal too will step up their preparations for the domestic and European seasons to get back up and running. Mikel Arteta's men will be hoping to hit the ground running when the Premier League returns on December 26, and in doing so will play two friendlies following the conclusion of both the World Cup's group stage and round of 16.The first of these took place on December 8 as they recorded a 3-0 win over Lyon in Dubai. They'll return to the same venue five days later, to face AC Milan at the slightly earlier time of 2.00 p.m. on December 13.DateTimeOpponentThursday, December 8, 202215:30 GMT3-0 win vs. LyonTuesday, December 13, 202214:00 GMTAC Milan