‘Suspicious’—Mikel Arteta Sent Sly Declan Rice Jibe by England Boss

Thomas Tuchel has addressed the mass international withdraws flooding back to Arsenal.

Declan Rice didn’t play for England in March despite being called. | Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

England manager Thomas Tuchel admitted that Arsenal’s mass international withdrawals could look “suspicious” to some, yet he took more issue with how Mikel Arteta has been risking the long-term health of Declan Rice.

Rice joined up with England alongside his Arsenal teammates Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke. The latter damaged his knee during a hefty collision in the first half of Friday’s friendly against Uruguay while Rice and Saka both returned to north London after medical assessments without playing a minute for England.

Tuchel was keen to defend the conduct of Rice and Saka, who had been accused by some of shirking their international duty. Instead, the former Chelsea boss shifted the spotlight onto Arteta.

“They arrived injured,” Tuchel revealed. “We knew after the [Carabao Cup] final that there are issues.”

The England coach shrugged that it was up to Arsenal and Arteta to “decide for themselves how much risk they’re taking” by playing someone in Rice’s condition. “I’m not willing to take this risk for my key player,” Tuchel pointedly added.

Declan Rice (left) and Bukayo Saka will likely start for England in the U.S. | Eddie Keogh-The FA/The FA/Getty Images

“He feels a discomfort since quite a while,” Tuchel said of Rice, “and he’s playing through it, and 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?’ And the same with Bukayo.”

Arteta clearly has no problem pushing his players to their limits.

Rice has started 29 of Arsenal’s 30 Premier League matches this season, only missing the 4–1 win over Aston Villa in December with a swollen knee. Just four days later the all-action midfielder deemed himself fit to start against Bournemouth, scoring twice in a 3–2 victory.

“Declan Rice was struggling the last few days," Arteta admitted, “but pushed and pushed and pushed and made himself available. He played 96 minutes, scored two goals and was one of the best players on the pitch. That is the mentality we need from all of us.” It’s not the mentality Tuchel wants.

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Tuchel: ‘Everyone Can Do the Math’

Thomas Tuchel will always speak his mind. | Michael Regan/The FA/Getty Images

Arsenal’s English enclave only represent a fraction of the widespread international exodus funnelled back to north London this month. The number of withdrawals has hit double digits, prompting many to accuse the Premier League title challengers of prioritizing their club objectives.

“Everyone can do the math and it’s a lot of players, of course, and during the situation, it looks a bit suspicious,” Tuchel conceded. “But I can only talk about our players.”

In terms of Rice and Saka, the England manager was at pains to stress how committed they were. “They both came,” Tuchel outlined. “Declan was even out on the pitch. He did not come and say, ‘Guys, I’m going home.’ I heard there were [international] camps where players did not even show up with boots and stuff. Then it becomes, ‘O.K.’

“But they both came. Bukayo did sessions in the gym, did another session in the gym to really try. Declan had a session together with Jude [Bellingham] on the pitch, tried, and said ‘it doesn’t feel right’. Why would I push him? What would we gain from that?

“Declan is a key player, Bukayo is a key player, why would I take this risk? Of course I want them in my team, of course I want them to play tomorrow. But this is just not the moment to push. And on top of it, I have 100% trust in both of them.”

“I understand the look of it,” Tuchel added. “I still have 100% trust in the honesty of Bukayo and Declan. We did medical tests. I saw them. I have no reason to believe that Declan is not honest with me. I have no reason to believe Bukayo is not honest. But given the amount of [withdrawn] Arsenal players, I understand the look.”

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Noni Madueke Faces Champions League Setback—Report

Noni Madueke joins Arsenal’s injury list. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Madueke’s commitment has never been in question. The sparky winger was floored by a meaty challenge and left Wembley Stadium in a knee brace. Tuchel claimed that those pictures were more severe than the injury turned out to be.

“Actually he got lucky that it’s not worse,” the 52-year-old reflected. “He is out for some days and maybe some weeks but it could have been much worse. It was a proper collision.”

This timeline still casts a shadow over Madueke’s involvement in Arsenal’s upcoming games. The Athletic report that the summer recruit is “likely” to sit out Saturday’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Southampton and is “a doubt” for next week’s Champions League round of 16 tie with Sporting CP in Lisbon.

Should Saka remain sidelined alongside Madueke, Arteta may be forced to once again turn to his record-breaking teenager Max Dowman. The 16-year-old made the difference against Everton in the middle of March but was oddly overlooked while Arsenal toiled unsuccessfully in the Carabao Cup final.

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