Of all the midfield options Martin O'Neill has available to him right now, no one is in better form than Harry Arter. Bournemouth held Spurs to a goalless draw at Dean Court on Saturday afternoon. Arter gave another Man of the Match performance as his side prevented Spurs from going top of the Premier League.
Harry Arter's game by numbers vs. Spurs:
6 tackles won
4 clearances
3 interceptions
1 block
Brilliant midfield display. pic.twitter.com/atsfGorxJk— Squawka (@Squawka) October 22, 2016
After the game, Arter was interviewed by Kevin Kilbane for Newstalk's Off The Ball.
On the evening of Ireland's 1-0 win against Georgia, rumours began to spread that was going to declare for England. Those rumours were groundless. Arter's commitment to Ireland was never in question.
Harry Arter on England rumours
In an interview with the Sunday World in the days following the Georgia game, the 26-year-old said that the only time he had pondered why he plays for Ireland was the night of the Georgia game. It was down to what he described as the 'vile' messages he received on social media from those who believed the rumours.
Arter says that he was disappointed with the reaction.
It was a strange one at the time. I didn't feel like I wanted to answer it or say anything about it because it hadn't come from me. For someone to make up a rumour like that, I personally felt like it didn't deserve an answer.
One thing I was a tad disappointed with was the reaction from certain people in Ireland. That's football and I chose to ignore it. Unfortunately I missed out through injury the last time but hopefully all goes well throughout this month and I'll be ready for the Austria game.
He added that the whole affair was a 'silly situation'.
Just from the Irish people. I don't want to say too much about it. I'd rather forget about it. For me, it was a silly, silly situation. It wasn't a conversation that I wanted to get involved with. It wasn't a situation that I created. It wasn't anything that I wanted to engage with.
Arter is yet to play a competitive game for Ireland. If he's fit, that should change next month against Austria. The Bournemouth midfielder would probably have been part of the Euro 2016 squad were it not for an injury. Arter was desperate to be part of the Ireland 23 which traveled to France. He divulged the extent of his desperation to Kilbane.
It was disappointing to miss out through injury. We had a fantastic squad. I might not even have got picked for the [Euro 2016] squad. I wasn't thinking that I had a guaranteed spot. That game against Belarus was still and opportunity for me to get myself in [Martin O'Neill's] mind. Unfortunately the injury was too much at that time. All throughout the summer I was watching the Euros and using that as my motivation to get fit. I'm trying to establish myself as a Premier League player and hopefully with Ireland.
I kept the injury pretty much to myself and didn't tell anyone to a point where it was pretty much impossible for me to carry on. I played the Holland game with my thigh tied at tight as I could to stop the pain. I was praying for a miracle the next day that it would be alright but down in Cork the next it was evident that it was not going to be OK.
You can listen to the interview on Off The Ball below.
Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
