Arsenal caused a stir by having several players leave their respective national teams during this month’s international break ahead of their Premier League title bid.
Several Arsenal players have been ruled out of international duty this month (Image: Arsenal FC, Getty Images)
Gabby Agbonlahor believes some Arsenal players should be suspended after 10 of them withdrew from international duty this month. The former Aston Villa striker turned pundit has claimed the Premier League should consider penalizing players who withdraw from international appearances for the “benefit” of their clubs.
Arsenal remain nine points behind Mikel Arteta’s Manchester City but face a crucial few weeks in the title race. Regarding the circumstances of his departure, an angry Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “If I were a member of the Premier League and I made a decision, I would introduce a new rule where if you withdraw from international football, you cannot participate in the next Premier League game.”
“I’m telling you, players will stop withdrawing. It’s an honor to play for your country. If I were Harry Kane, I’d talk about this and say, ‘Come on, guys, let’s not go back to four or five years ago when players were constantly withdrawing.’
read more: Ben White given green light to start against Japan as manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledges England’s concernsread more: Thomas Tuchel and England national team manager resolve the Declan Rice issue, which had been a concern following the decision to participate in the World Cup
“I understand. Arteta is doing everything he can to win trophies. The next game after the international break is against Southampton in the FA Cup.
“I’m not too keen on players stepping away from international duty. It’s an honor to play for your country. It doesn’t suit me.”
William Saliba was withdrawn from international duty for the first time, leaving the France squad after Arsenal lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
William Saliba misses France’s friendly matches against Brazil and Colombia
Ebereshi Eze was subsequently excluded from England’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. Julian Timber and Martin Odegaard are also still dealing with injuries and have been withdrawn from the Dutch and Norwegian national teams respectively.
Leandro Trossard has left the Belgium camp, Martin Zvimendi has left the Spain squad and Piero Hincapi has returned to England from Ecuador.
Noni Madueke suffered a knee injury during England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay last Friday, but has been cleared to withdraw from the squad. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were given the first week off after manager Thomas Tuchel split the group for two games.
It appears he was allowed to leave the squad after joining up with the rest of the squad at Tottenham Hotspur Way training ground.
However, amid rumors of a mass withdrawal from Arsenal, manager Tuchel defended Saka and Rice, insisting there was no reason to doubt their injuries. “I understand what that looks like,” he said Monday. “I still have 100% confidence in Declan and Bukayo’s integrity.
“We carried out medical tests and I saw them too. I have no reason to believe either of them were telling me anything other than honest. But given the number of withdrawals of Arsenal players, the perception is understandable. They were desperate to get involved, just to get the story right. But both clearly felt uncomfortable.”
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