Former Chelsea defender, Wayne Bridge, has claimed that Arsenal have “put more pressure on themselves” in the Premier League title race after they pulled some of their players from international duty.
Gunners captain, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze missed the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
But during the international break, at least 10 players pulled out of their country’s matches citing various injury issues.
They include Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Piero Hincapie, Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi.
In contrast, only one player from Manchester City and Liverpool returned from their international duty early.
“You know the worst thing about it? I feel like they’ve put more pressure on themselves now,” Bridge said on The Dressing Room podcast.
“I think the league is done but if they throw it away after doing that, it looks even worse.”