Mikel Arteta defends 10 Arsenal players in firm response to injury criticism

Ten Arsenal players withdrew either before or during international fixtures, sparking plenty of external discussion

Mikel Arteta says criticism of Arsenal’s players withdrawing from international duty is “part of the narrative” as the Spaniard hit back at scrutiny from the past fortnight.

Ten Arsenal players withdrew either before or during international fixtures, sparking plenty of external discussion. When asked who would be involved in the FA Cup clash with Southampton on Saturday evening, it was evident that what had been said had made it through to the Gunners manager.

“You will see,” Arteta replied with a wry smile. “I continue the speculation so you can do it, and you can judge it afterwards. If what I said was right, or do I have to maybe change and delete and write something else?”

Arsenal have been the centre of many complaints over their style, accusations of grappling in the penalty areas or even just how good they are from set pieces.

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Yet, despite all of that, Arteta has tended to remain steadfast, backing his players, his system, and his philosophy; however, when asked about this most recent perusal, he made it clear that what has been said is not a fair reflection of reality.

“I think it's part of the narrative,” he said. “But I understand that. I hope it's been the same when we had a lot of players from the national team injured in the past. The same emphasis.

“Because then it's a fair comment. So, it's fine. Let's see who is available or not tomorrow, and maybe we have to change the narrative.”

Arsenal have lost many players to injury during international breaks in recent seasons. Just this week, Noni Madueke, Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi have suffered problems with England, Ecuador and Spain, respectively.

In December, Gabriel Magalhaes missed several weeks after getting injured in a friendly for Brazil, ironically, while playing at the Emirates Stadium against Senegal.

With just over two months until the World Cup, there is little doubt the summer tournament will be on player’s minds. However, Arteta said his player cannot be thinking about the concern of injury during the run-in with the importance of their responsibility to Arsenal.

"Everything is in consideration,” he said. “We need to commit to the moment, and the moment here is Arsenal, and the moment they are at the national team is the national team.

“Something could happen in between, [but] you can't be thinking about that because your duty, your obligation is to perform in whatever you are in that moment. That's what we expect from all the players."

Declan Rice, who England manager Thomas Tuchel admitted had said he “doesn’t feel right” when training, was sent back to Arsenal. Arteta revealed that the midfielder has been dealing with the effects of what Tuchel had alluded to for some time, but that the will to win has seen him push through it.

"He's been phenomenal because that's been going on for a while” Arteta said.

“And that he's been able to perform and consistently commit to the team in that manner talks about how much he wants to play for us and how much he wants to win. That's great to see."