Thomas Tuchel aims Mikel Arteta dig over surprise Arsenal decision in new England warning
Thomas Tuchel has warned Premier League coaches that he will not spare their star players from England duty – and says Arsenal’s use of Declan Rice justifies his stance.
The Three Lions are back in action at Wembley on Monday night against Latvia, only 72 hours after beating Albania in Tuchel’s first game in charge.
The German has promised a degree of rotation for the World Cup qualifier, but with only six international breaks between now and next summer’s tournament, knows he cannot afford to waste any opportunity to prepare his team.
The club vs country tensions that had largely eased under Gareth Southgate, before re-emerging during Lee Carsley’s interim reign, could therefore surface once more but Tuchel is prepared to face that possibility down, even heading into the club season run-in.
“‘I know that this window, this camp, is where the clubs play a very crucial time of the season,” Tuchel said. “They play for championships, they play for quarter-finals in the Champions League.
“We are very well aware of it but we have also our own goals, we have our own targets. The players are keen to play and it has to be like this.
“I always accepted it as a club manager. I never got involved in lineups, I never pushed any national coach because I was hoping that my players get picked, I was also hoping that they are proud to play.
“Of course, you’re never happy if something happens. No one can predict that there is no accident, but we have a World Cup qualifier and we’ll take responsible decisions.”
Rice has been one of England most consistent, and most consistently used, players in recent years. The midfielder missed November’s international break through injury but prior to that had started all but one of England’s previous 30 competitive games.
The 26-year-old is a similarly reliable presence at club level, so much so that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta picked him to start the second leg of this month’s Champions League last-16 tie against PSV Eindhoven, despite the Gunners holding a six-goal advantage from the first leg.
“After a 7-1 first leg and Declan Rice played the next match with Arsenal, I didn’t have the feeling that they think so much about us,” Tuchel said.
“‘I don’t think we have to break our heads about this. I take care about the players. We take care about the schedule, but it would be the wrong signal to tell players now, ‘Hey, you have tough matches coming up, so I rest you now’.”
