Thomas Tuchel aims dig at Arsenal's Mikel Arteta over 'unprofessional risks' | OneFootball

England manager Thomas Tuchel has warned that he won't take "unprofessional risks" by resting players for the benefit of their club sides.

The club vs country battle has raged for years and domestic coaches understandably want their players as fit and fresh as possible for their own use. Tuchel himself has been on that side of it and Pep Guardiola has been critical in the past of players getting injured on international duty.

But in giving his new side of the argument, Tuchel aimed a dig at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta when explaining that club managers cannot have it both ways.

"Given the fact Declan Rice played after a 7-1 first leg the next match with Arsenal, I didn't have the feeling that they think so much about us," Tuchel said, referencing the Gunners midfielder starting what was essentially a Champions League dead rubber against PSV Eindhoven this month.

Declan Rice started against PSV Eindhoven when Arsenal were already 7-1 up / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

"So I don't think we have to break our heads about this," he added.

"I take care of the players. We take care about the schedule. But it would be the wrong signal to tell players: 'You have tough matches coming up so I rest you.' We have a qualifier to play, we do what's good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs and we won't take unprofessional risks.

"I feel responsible for the players. I don’t want the player to be injured, I want the players to play quarter‑finals of the Champions League because I want to watch it. We take care about us and the clubs take care about themselves and the main focus is taking care of the players."

England continue their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Latvia on Monday night.