Sunday 31 December 2017 13:22, UK
West Brom boss Alan Pardew believes players are within their rights to vent frustrations at unsettled team-mates who would rather be elsewhere.
The Baggies host Arsenal on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, with the spotlight on the Gunners' unity following reports of a rift between Alexis Sanchez, who is out of contract this summer, and some of his team-mates.
Thierry Henry and Graeme Souness queried Arsenal's divided celebration after Sanchez was only joined by four team-mates when scoring during Thursday's 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.
Pardew is unsure if there are any issues within Arsenal's dressing room but says he does encourage his own players to police themselves and confront individuals who may be putting their own interests before those of the team.
"There are situations where players force the hand of the group. Virgil van Dijk [who is on the verge of completing a £75m move to Liverpool] has done that at Southampton," he said.
"He wasn't playing, not picked every week, a great player like him. You have to question the attitude of him and look at all the other players.
"If we were a team in the room and we had one player doing that, I would expect the group not to accept that.
"I would expect a manager to respond to the group. Sometimes those moments are from a group rather than a manager themselves."
Sunday's game will see Arsene Wenger taking charge of his 811th game as Arsenal manager, surpassing the mark set by former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Pardew acknowledges it is a fantastic achievement for the Frenchman but admits he hopes to spoil the milestone by securing a first win in 19 Premier League matches for bottom-of-the-table West Brom.
"I don't think there are any words I can say to give justice to what he's achieved in English football," Pardew said of Wenger.
"It's well documented he changed from an era of players perhaps not being as professional as they could have been to a very professional era.
"The thing I think he's brought to the Premier League is a positivity that his team will gain the upper hand or attempt to take the upper hand. I admire that. As we have seen over the Christmas period, there are a lot of teams who will take the initiative away and be happy not to have it.
"I will say, 'Well done' to him before the game and hopefully at the end say, 'Unlucky'."
