Thomas Tuchel digs out Mikel Arteta as England boss vows not to help Prem managers

Thomas Tuchel won’t be granting any favours to Premier League managers when it comes to selecting, and using, England players on international duty. The former Chelsea manager insists top-flight bosses do not help out the national team and so he won’t be extending any courtesies their way. Tuchel called out Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta and his decision to play Declan Rice in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 despite being 7-1 up from the first tie.

Rice played 64 minutes at the Emirates and scored in a 2-2 draw although the Gunners were all but through to the next round anyway. Premier League coaches including Pep Guardiola have publicly expressed their frustrations previously about their players racking up more minutes during international breaks. The Manchester City said he had “never been so angry” after John Stones came back injured last year having played for England against Belgium in a friendly.

Despite knowing what it’s like to be Guardiola’s shoes having been Chelsea manager between January 2021 and September 2022, Tuchel intends to go strong when England face Latvia in World Cup qualifying on Monday night. Though that may frustrate some club managers ahead of the season’s run-in, Tuchel is unfazed as he looks to build on Friday’s Wembley win over Albania.

The 51-year-old German tactician said: “Given the fact Declan Rice played after a 7-1…a 7-1 first leg and Declan played the next match with Arsenal. I didn’t have the feeling that they think so much about us so I don’t think we have to break our heads about this.”

But he added: “I take care of the players. We take care about the schedule. But it would be the wrong signal to tell players now: ‘Hey you have tough club matches coming up so I rest you now.’

“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs, we are in high level monitoring where the statuses are known and we won’t take any unprofessional risks.

“Because first of all I feel responsible for the players. I don’t want the player to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it.

“So this is where it is and in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care about themselves and the main focus is taking care of the players.”

Tuchel is expected to rotate his team against Latvia but will still field a strong eleven. Anthony Gordon would have started on the left wing but has been forced to leave the camp due to an injury that has left him unable to walk properly. Morgan Rogers is poised to start instead.