Former Premier League star calls for suspension of over 11 Arsenal players

Former Aston Villa striker, now commentator Gabriel Agbonlahor believes some Arsenal players deserve to be banned from playing, and calls for the Premier League to introduce new regulations to handle cases of withdrawing from national teams to "serve club interests."

Arsenal is preparing to enter the crucial phase of the season. Mikel Arteta's team currently leads Manchester City by 9 points, despite the opponent still having one match pending. Therefore, the wave of withdrawals from the national team by Arsenal players has drawn public attention.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor expressed his frustration: “If I were a Premier League official with decision-making power, I would enact a new rule: any player who withdraws from the national team must miss the next Premier League match they are eligible to play.”

“I understand Arteta is doing everything to win the title. I just don't like players withdrawing from the national team. It is an honor to represent your country. To me, this is truly unacceptable.”, Agbonlahor added.

The first to withdraw from the national team was William Saliba, after the defender left the French squad following Arsenal's defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

Next, Eberechi Eze could not participate in England's friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan. Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard, two players still managing injuries, also withdrew from the Dutch and Norwegian national teams respectively.

Leandro Trossard left the Belgian national team camp, while Martin Zubimendi withdrew from the Spanish national team. Piero Hincapie also parted from the Ecuadorian team to return to England.

Noni Madueke, who suffered a knee injury in England's 1-1 draw with Uruguay on Friday, was also allowed to leave the national team. Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were given the first week off to recover, after Thomas Tuchel split the squad for two different matches.

According to sources, after returning to Tottenham Hotspur Way headquarters to join the rest of the team, Saka and Rice were also permitted to leave again.

Nevertheless, Tuchel defended his Arsenal pupils, stating he had no reason to doubt their injuries, amid the large number of Arsenal withdrawals sparking speculation.

“I understand how things look.”, Tuchel said. “I still fully trust the honesty of Declan and Bukayo.

“We conducted medical checks, I saw them firsthand. “They very much wanted to participate, but clearly both are in pain. I have no reason to doubt them. But with so many Arsenal players withdrawing, I understand why people view it that way.”, Tuchel added.