England stars Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke are four of ELEVEN Arsenal players to have pulled out of international duty
Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England
Tuchel spoke before England's clash against Japan(Image: 2026 The FA)
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England boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted the fact that 11 Arsenal players have withdrawn from international duty looks 'suspicious', but insists there are no doubts over the honesty of the quartet of Three Lions stars to pull out.
Eberechi Eze withdrew before Friday's 1-1 draw against Uruguay, while Noni Madueke limped out of that clash and has returned to Arsenal. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka did not join camp until Saturday but were both sent back to the Gunners after medical tests.
They join Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurrien Tumber, Piero Hancapie and Martin Zubimendi in withdrawing from international duty.
Arsenal are still competing on three fronts as they bid to end their long trophy drought and secure a first Premier League title for more than 20 years.
They hold a nine-point lead over Manchester City in the title race, although the Blues have a game in hand and are still to play the Gunners at the Emirates.
City beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final before the international break, ending hopes of a quadruple for Mikel Arteta's side, while Pep Guardiola's men are already out of the Champions League.
Arsenal travel to Southampton in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday night while City face Liverpool earlier in the day in the last eight.
The Gunners then face a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Sporting Lisbon and eyebrows have been raised at the number of international withdrawals given their packed fixture schedule.
But Tuchel insists there are no doubts over his players' honesty. "Everyone can do the math and it's a lot of players, of course," he said. "During the situation, it looks a bit suspicious but I can only talk for our players.
Noni Madueke limps off during England vs Uruguay
Madueke limped out of England's clash against Uruguay(Image: Getty)
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"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 Arsenal players, I understand the look."
The outlook on Madueke is more serious than his other Arsenal and England teammates, with Tuchel admitting he may face a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
"Noni is out for some days and maybe some weeks," he added. "Everybody will be out for quite some days but not dramatically. It's disappointing, but I'm not upset with the players, I'm not angry with the players.
"I got the feeling that everyone was desperate to come. Some of the injured players even stayed to start their treatment here. That just shows me they want to be around the group.
"No one left straight away. Everyone stayed, had another dinner, had another night, had another breakfast, because it's a good spirit and that's how it should be.
"I’m not sure if I want to give the nature of the injuries away. I think Arsenal would not be happy but Declan feels a discomfort since quite a while, and he’s playing through it, and he’s just now on the edge. It’s the same with Bukayo.
"He played in pain through the Carabao final and we could see that he had not the same impact that he wishes to have for his club against Man City.
"You can see it and he confirmed it straight away. He tried with treatment in the three days to get rid of it and be ready but it's just too much of pain. We will not push players now who are at 70 per cent through a friendly match."
England take on Japan this evening in their final friendly before jetting off to the USA. Jude Bellingham will miss the game as he recovers from a hamstring problem while Ben White may start after his goalscoring return to international action on Friday.