Having already allowed 11 of his 23-man squad to play inside the FIFA window covering January’s tournament, Arnold and the FFA are not prepared to buckle to pressure from Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon, and allow Tom Rogic, Martin Boyle, Jamie Maclaren and Mark Milligan dispensation to play derby matches on December 30.
Rodgers wants Rogic for the Old Firm clash against Rangers, whilst Lennon is eyeing his Socceroos trio for the Edinburgh showdown against Hearts.
Arnold is within his rights to insist players be in camp by Christmas Eve, but decided to allow them to spend Christmas Day with their families and play on Boxing Day for their clubs.
But with Australia facing a vital warm-up match against Oman in Dubai on December 30 - just six days out from their tournament opener against Jordan - the largesse will not be extended to clubs hoping to push the envelope.
“It’s difficult but it is what it is and we have to protect the integrity of our national teams and we will do that,” was the unequivocal message from FFA’s head of performance Luke Casserly.
“In the UK, in particular, it’s a really busy time and it’s a tough period. But, from our perspective, this tournament is once every four years.
“Arnie has been in constant communication with Brendan Rodgers (regarding Rogic) and the fact is nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia are already in camp.
“We haven’t called everybody in at the first possible opportunity. We’ve allowed them to play games.
“But we have our own work to do to prepare for the tournament, and we have left things as long as we can to help the clubs.
“There has to be a cut-off point and we will basically have all the players flying out Christmas night, or Boxing Day night, to assemble in Dubai by the 27th.”
Rodgers said earlier he hoped to “find a sensible solution” and was not “overly happy” at the prospect of losing Rogic after the Boxing Day game against Aberdeen, and ahead of the Rangers clash, insisting the midfielder wanted to play.
But the Socceroos’ hierarchy are unwilling to set a precedent to any club - or player - by deferring their arrivals to ensure that each and everyone is treated with an even hand.
They believe they have already shown more than the required amount of flexibility in what is always a vexed issue.
The fear is that by allowing any exceptions, club coaches will be encouraged to push for endless favours, creating a nightmare scenario for Arnold and the FFA.
