Arsenal have been at the center of controversy over the duration of their international break. (Image: Getty Images)
Gabby Agbonlahor believes some Arsenal players should be sanctioned after 10 of them withdrew from international football this month. The former Aston Villa striker turned pundit has suggested the Premier League should consider penalizing players who withdraw from international duty in the “benefit” of their clubs.
Arsenal are in a crucial period of the title race, with Manchester City in control of the game despite being nine points behind Mikel Arteta’s side. Speaking about the withdrawal situation, a frustrated Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “If I were part of the Premier League and I was making a decision, I would introduce a new rule where if you withdraw from international football, you will not be able to take part in the next available 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.’
“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.”
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William Saliba was left out of the France squad after Arsenal lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, and was the first to quit the international squad. Ebereshi Eze was subsequently excluded from England’s friendly matches 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Julian Timber and Martin Odegaard are also still dealing with injuries and have been withdrawn from the Dutch and Norwegian national teams respectively.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 Belgian camp, Martin Zvimendi has left the Spain squad and Piero Hincapi has left the Ecuador squad and returned to England.
William Saliba was one of a number of Arsenal players to announce their retirement from international football. (Image: Getty)
Noni Madueke was left out of the squad after sustaining a knee injury during England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay last Friday. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were given the first week off to recuperate as manager Thomas Tuchel split the groups for two games.
However, he was allowed to leave after joining the rest of the squad at Tottenham Hotspur Way training ground.
Despite this, Tuchel backed Saka and Rice, insisting there was no basis to question their injuries, given the questionable nature of a significant number of Arsenal’s departures.
“I understand what that looks like,” he said Monday. “I still have 100 per cent 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.”
