If there was one team in the Premier League that would not have wanted the most recent international break, it was Arsenal.
After recovering from a wretched start to the season, Mikel Arteta has seen his side become the form team in the league over recent weeks.
Since they were thumped 5-0 by Manchester City at the end of August, the Gunners have shown commendable character to embark on a 10-match unbeaten run; the longest current run in the league.
Their stunning turnaround has seen both Arteta and Arsenal rake in the plaudits. The form shown by their new signings, in particular Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu, has bred new optimism around the Emirates.
But Saturday's trip to Liverpool, a typically unhappy hunting ground for the Gunners, represents the first real acid test for Arteta's fledgling stars.
Have Your Say! Will Arsenal end their awful Anfield run on Saturday? Let us know in the comments
Over the past few years, the Gunners have failed to live up to their billing in high-profile domestic encounters with other top-six teams — particularly away from home.
Things have improved slightly in recent years, and notably, under Arteta. Last year, Arsenal completed the league double over Chelsea, beating Frank Lampard's side 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and turning over Thomas Tuchel's men 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
And what's more, last November they finally halted a wretched run of winless games on the road against the so-called 'Big Six', with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang netting in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford to end a staggering run of 29 games without a win.
Unfortunately for Arteta, Arsenal's record against Liverpool in recent years is by far the worst of the bunch.
And attempting to end that sorry run is likely to push his new-look side to the limit.
Arsenal have won just two of their previous 15 league games against the Reds — and haven't won at Anfield since Lukasz Podolski and Santi Cazorla struck in a 2-0 win all the way back in September 2012.
Alongside Manchester City, Liverpool have pretty much set the standard at the top of the Premier League for the last few years, making it almost impossible for the Gunners to lay a glove on them in recent clashes.
But Arteta's men shouldn't be overawed on Merseyside this weekend.
Although there's a chance that the Gunners may have lost momentum over the enforced break, it feels as though there couldn't be a better time to play Jurgen Klopp 's side than right now.
The Reds are coming off the back of a disappointing 3-2 reverse at West Ham, and whilst that has been their only league loss of the campaign so far, they've certainly looked far more mortal this year than they have in recent seasons under Klopp.
Virgil van Dijk may have returned from injury to marshall Liverpool's rearguard, but even with their defensive linchpin back, the Reds have looked uncharacteristically vulnerable at the back.
Arsenal haven't exactly been potent in front of goal this year, with their tally of 13 strikes by far the lowest in the top six behind the 19 goals racked up by Manchester United.
But their star men are bang in form right now. Both Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were on the scoresheet for England in midweek and can seemingly do no wrong at the Emirates right now.
Their form means Arsenal have a golden opportunity to finally buck the trend and overcome their nine-year Anfield hoodoo.
Previous big matches against Chelsea and City this term, where they were soundly swept aside, can be pretty much disregarded given the different look to Arteta's team right now.
With all six of his summer signings now embedded into the starting XI, this is very much now Arteta's team. Results have certainly backed that up so far.
There's no doubt that Saturday's trip to Liverpool represents the first real challenge that his newly-assembled squad has had to face since embarking on their unbeaten run. And a trip to Anfield will be one hell of an acid test for Arteta's young side, who have got Arsenal fans dreaming of Champions League football once again.
But there's no reason why they shouldn't be confident of passing it — and there will be very few questioning whether Arteta's side are the real deal if they do.
