"If I were Harry Kane, I’d bring it up": Former international makes a clear demand of the Bayern Munich striker

As Arsenal players Martin Zubimendi (Spain), Piero Hincapie (Ecuador), William Saliba (France), Gabriel (Brazil), Martin Ödegaard (Norway), Jurrien Timber (Netherlands) and Leandro Trossard (Belgium) are unavailable for their respective national teams for various reasons, Agbonlahor suspects there is a system behind it.

Admittedly, he can understand that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would like to have all his players as fit and ready as possible for the final stretch of the season. However, this comes at the expense of the national teams, which in turn would then face problems of their own with the upcoming World Cup in mind.

"I just don’t think it’s right for players to turn down international call-ups. It’s an honour to play for your country. It just doesn’t sit right with me,” Agbonlahor complained on talkSPORT, addressing England captain Kane directly: “If I were Harry Kane, I’d raise the issue and say: ‘Come on, lads, let’s not go back to the way things were four or five years ago, when players were constantly pulling out.’”

In extreme cases, one could even consider far-reaching consequences for players who deliberately skip international matches. “You miss the next available Premier League match if you opt out of an international fixture. I’ll tell you one thing: the players will stop pulling out,” said Agbonlahor.

At least in the case of Rice and Saka, Tuchel explained at a press conference that both were carrying minor injuries and were therefore unavailable for selection. “They underwent medical examinations and were desperate to play, just to set the record straight,” the German emphasised. “They were desperate to be involved. But it simply didn’t make sense to take that risk.”

A later appearance in the season might have been possible, but as Arsenal are still competing on three fronts, the risk would have been too high: “Perhaps if it had been the last game of the season, we would have kept them on and given it our all. But at this stage of the season, it simply didn’t make sense. The risk of it getting worse was simply far too great,” said Tuchel.