{"id":1900,"date":"2026-04-03T07:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T07:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T07:40:17","slug":"more-pressure-wayne-bridge-reacts-to-arsenal-international-withdrawals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1900","title":{"rendered":"\u2018More pressure\u2019 Wayne Bridge reacts to Arsenal international withdrawals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"427\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Wayne Bridge<\/span><\/span>  believes <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Arsenal<\/span><\/span>  have placed additional pressure on themselves to win the <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Premier League<\/span><\/span>  title and other trophies after several players withdrew from international duty. The Gunners have been one of the most in-form teams in Europe this season, which has led to a number of their stars being called up to represent their national sides.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"429\" data-end=\"738\">While Arsenal take pride in their players earning international recognition, such commitments can increase the risk of injuries at a crucial stage of the campaign. With the season entering a decisive period, the club will be eager to ensure its key players remain fit and available for the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"ihk2mw\" data-start=\"740\" data-end=\"779\">Increased Pressure After Withdrawals<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"781\" data-end=\"1138\">Following the international break, Arsenal face a demanding schedule across multiple competitions. Maintaining momentum will be essential as they aim to secure silverware, particularly in the league, where they are in a strong position. The need for consistency and squad fitness has become even more significant given the expectations surrounding the team.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1140\" data-end=\"1363\">Bridge has suggested that the withdrawals may have inadvertently increased scrutiny on Arsenal. As reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/01\/wayne-bridge-makes-declan-rice-injury-claim-sends-title-warning-arsenal-27803954\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Metro<\/a>he said, \u201cYou know the worst thing about it? I feel like they\u2019ve put more pressure on themselves now.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1365\" data-end=\"1457\">\u2018I think the league is done but if they throw it away after doing that, it looks even worse.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1m7ce25\" data-start=\"1459\" data-end=\"1483\">Focus On Key Fixtures<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1485\" data-end=\"1754\">Bridge also highlighted the potential challenge of facing <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Bournemouth<\/span><\/span>adding, \u201cTheir next (Premier League) game is against Bournemouth, right? They\u2019ve upset Arsenal a few times. I don\u2019t think it will happen but they\u2019ve upset them a few times.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1756\" data-end=\"1818\">\u2018We know those players are alright, we know they\u2019re alright.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1820\" data-end=\"2181\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Despite external opinions, Arsenal\u2019s primary focus remains on preparation and performance. The squad understands the importance of winning as many matches as possible to secure the league title, particularly as opportunities to claim the crown do not come easily. If they maintain their current level, they will be well placed to finish the season successfully.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wayne Bridge believes Arsenal have placed additional pressure on themselves to win the Premier League title and other trophies after several players withdrew from international duty. The Gunners have been one of the most in-form teams in Europe this season, which has led to a number of their stars being called up to represent their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}