It’s not because he has lost faith in World Cup guns like Craig Goodwin and Mathew Leckie - it’s more a case of the age old irritant of A-League season scheduling which, in effect, makes it hard to select locally-based players for four of the five annual FIFA windows.

Arnold has long lobbied for Australia’s domestic calendar to synchronise with Europe/Asia to boost his selection options, as well as pushing hard for an extended season from 25 to 33 matches.

He selected five then A-Leageurs for the 2022 World Cup - Goodwin, Leckie, Sndrew Redmayne, Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings - and has long championed the cause of the home brigade.

But the same frustrations remain, leaving the coach with a seemingly eternal conundrum.

The same issues also impact Tony Vidmar’s Olyroos - and in general all Australia’s under age teams - as they gear up for September’s vital Paris Games qualifiers against North Korea, Laos and Tajikistan.

“It’s never easy telling players you can’t select them, especially when it’s because of a match calendar they have no control of,” explained Arnold.

“They are always desperate to pull on the shirt, and you saw what an important part our A-League boys played at the World Cup (where the likes of Goodwin and Leckie dazzled on the grand stage).

“It’s always a difficult conversation when I have to explain why I can’t pick certain players, but the reality is we have to have them in top match condition no matter the opposition or the competition we’re involved in.

“I’d love it if we had a season which started a couple of months sooner, let’s say the end of August. Players need to be playing more, and a four-month off-season isn’t beneficial for anybody.

“Being in line with Europe/Asia would be much better for us.

“They boys need to be playing competitively rather than training but it’s out of their hands and you have to feel for them. It’s a far from ideal situation, and something I’d like to see change.

“This is the same thing Ange Postecoglou was talking about when he was in charge 10 years ago, and we don’t seem to have moved too far forward, other than the A-League now pausing for FIFA dates which is definitely a step in the right direction.

“We need to be brave and change the model - as well as our top six playing off I’d like to see the bottom six also play off, a bit like the system in Belgium and Scotland, with the top two qualifying directly for the Australia Cup.”

Shackled by such long standing limitations, Arnold will look to select a squad comprised largely of overseas based players for next month’s friendly against Mexico in Dallas and October’s glamour meeting with England at Wembley plus the clash with New Zealand, also in London, the same month.

He’s planning to head to the UK later this month to begin preparations for a hectic schedule ahead - which also takes in November’s first round of World Cup qualifiers against the winner of Maldives and Bangladesh at home, followed by Palestine away. Then comes January’s Asian Cup in Qatar, where the Socceroos will be among the hunted after their heady exploits in reaching the knockout stages at last year’s World Cup.

Whilst in Europe, Arnold will check on a plethora of players, including Riley McGree and Sammy Silvera at Middlesbrough, the Hearts quartet of Cam Devlin, Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson and Calem Nieuwenhof, Keanu Baccus and Ryan Strain at St Mirren, and Martin Boyle, James Jeggo and Lewis Miller at Hibernian.

His travels might also take him to newly promoted Championship side Ipswich where long-lost Socceroo Massimo Luongo and uncapped defender Cameron Burgess are both in the starting line up.

Sunderland centre back Nectar Triantis is also on the watch list, whilst Arnold has pencilled in a side trip to Italy for face-to-face talks with dual nationality Sassuolo newboy Cristian Volpato over his international intentions, whilst also assessing the form of Parma’s Alessandro Circati and Verona’s Ajdin Hrustic.

“Alessandro was involved for June’s friendly against Argentina and has a lot of qualities, whilst Cristian made an impact at Roma and is now at a new club making his way,” he said.

“We’ve kept in touch and whilst he’s represented Italy at U-20 level I believe he’s still open to representing Australia moving forward, and I need to see where his head is at.

“Ajdin has been unlucky with injuries and wasn’t able to play the minutes he hoped for at the World Cup but he was back against Argentina (in June) and he’s an important player for us.”

Arnold will also trek to Belgium to watch Standard Liege’s Aiden O’Neill - heir apparent to the retired Aaron Mooy -  and young Westerlo wing back Jordan Bos, both of whom have started the season well for their new clubs.