Andrew Nabbout has a message for Socceroos coach Graham Arnold: I'm not done yet.

The Melbourne City winger, who led the line for Australia at the 2018 World Cup, hasn't played for the Socceroos since November 2021.

But Nabbout has kept adding goals, assists and A-League Men silverware to his resume and is adamant his desire to play internationally burns as strong as ever.

"That never changes," Nabbout told AAP.

"I'm 30 years old, I'm not old at all - I've still got a lot of football left in me.

"The last couple months I feel like I've been playing some really good football, getting back to my best. Socceroos is always in the back of my mind.

"But first and foremost, I want to stay healthy and stay on the pitch as long as possible and if the opportunity comes knocking again, I'm definitely always ready for it."

With Jamie Maclaren, Mathew Leckie and Marco Tilio in City's ranks, Nabbout has had to work through being a bench option at times.

"I'm not gonna lie. It took me back a little bit to my early days," he said.

"But if there's one thing I learned from those early days it's when you're faced with that situation where you're not playing, you can go one of two ways.

"You can either go in a hole or you can really embrace the challenge and try to prove everyone wrong once again and get back in the squad.

"Although I don't like being on the bench it brings out a different animal in me, so it's definitely made me work a lot harder."

Nabbout has scored three goals and notched five assists but his workrate has helped create far more.

"I put my head down and go about my business. I like flying under the radar a little bit," he said.

"My teammates definitely know what I bring to the team."

Nabbout started in City's 4-0 semi-final second leg win over Sydney FC and is raring for Saturday's grand final against Central Coast.

"We had our hearts broken a bit (against Western United) last year and we're looking to rectify that this year," he said.

"I always say that the runner-up is the first loser.

"We were looking to rectify that this year from day one.

"It was amazing to be able to win another premiers plate which, for me, shows who the best and most consistent team is throughout the year and we won three in a row which is another amazing piece of history.

"But now it's time to go on to the big dance and really make a statement."