England Takes A Risk By Rewarding Arsenal Dropouts

The eyes of many international managers will be on Arsenal’s starting lineup versus Southampton this weekend.

At least nine coaches were deprived of talent for the midseason break, and all will be eager to know whether the raft of players who pulled out of their squads have miraculously recovered from the ailments that suddenly beset them.

After a disappointing Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City, a mysterious injury crisis has beset players at the Emirates.

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka played the entire 90 minutes at Wembley, but then, with the prospect of returning to the stadium a few days later in the white of England, they withdrew from the squad.

William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard also reported for duty with their national teams but quickly returned to North London.

Piero Hincapié, Martín Zubimendi, and Noni Madueke played their initial fixtures before returning; Jurriën Timber, Martin Ødegaard, and Eberechi Eze had existing injuries.

Even the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, was aware that the situation with Rice and Saka appeared suspicious, given the crucial run-in and the apparent fitness of both before the England camp.

“I understand the looks of it,” he told the media in response to questions about the pair.

“I still have 100% trust in the honesty of Declan and Bukayo. We did medical tests. I saw them. I have no reason to believe that either are not honest with me. But given the amount of Arsenal players, I understand the look.

“We knew after the [Carabao Cup] final that there are issues. They were in treatment. But they both came. Declan was even out on the pitch. He did not come and say: ‘Guys, I’m going home.’

“I heard there were camps where players did not even show up with boots. Bukayo did sessions in the gym to really try. Declan had a session on the pitch with Jude [Bellingham, who is also not fully fit] and said it doesn’t feel right. Why would I take any risks?

“They wanted desperately to be involved – just to get the narrative straight. But they were both clearly in discomfort.”

The German coach did not offer further details on the specific issues affecting the Arsenal pair on the basis that the club would be unhappy if he did.

But he added rather tellingly that “Declan [Rice] feels a discomfort since quite a while and he’s playing through it. He’s just now on the edge where he thinks: ‘Does this make sense, what I’m doing here, to push through with 70% and push myself and push myself?’ The same with Bukayo [Saka].”

The answer for a traditionalist who believes that every cap earned for their country is amongst the greatest honors a player can possess is ‘yes, you should push yourself.’

When your nation calls on you it is the honor of your life to represent it.

But the harsh truth is that playing for England used to mean more. It was a greater prize than any league title or European tilt; only a rare few got to wear the Three Lions jersey, and those who did respected that fact.

A fair counterargument is that international games were once less frequent; for example, the World Cup in 1978 had only 16 teams, compared to the 48-nation tournament the USA, Mexico, and Canada will host this summer.

The prestige of playing for a national team was also greater because club sides didn’t travel around the globe as they do today. The World Cup, held every four years, represented one of the few opportunities to see all the best players in action against one another.

These days, as many have noted, you see it nearly every week in the Premier League or Champions League.

But it is also true that some of the pride in representing your country has been lost; it no longer seems as special to players. International teams, like England, are increasingly having to sell the ‘experience’ of being a national hero to the superstars of today or as ex-boss Gareth Southgate said, “We want the players to enjoy the experience. We want them to have fun.”

Arsenal are not the cause of this deprioritization of national duty, but they are a reflection of the problem.

Or maybe that is too sentimental, and the colder, more ambitious take is that, given the relentless schedule Premier League players face, a breather actually benefits England in the long run, given the intense World Cup schedule ahead.

As Tuchel said, tiredness might not sink their campaign, but it might affect it.

“Fatigue is just a fact. That’s why we did this camp, as we have done – to give the ones who were heavily involved a break. I’m 100% convinced we will get the benefit from it – now against Japan and later,” he added.

England can only hope that the break handed to its two key men helps the national team as much as it has helped Arsenal.