Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Arter: Irish stint never in doubt!
HARRY ARTER insists he never considered turning his back on the Republic of Ireland after shipping vile abuse from online trolls.
In 2016, baseless rumours circulated claiming the English-born midfielder wanted to walk away and declare for England.
But that never materialised and Arter remained determined to become a regular feature with the Boys in Green.
When fit, he has become an established member of Martin O’neill’s squad but admits his club future at Bournemouth is up in the air having not played since January.
Arter said yesterday:
“For every 10 or 15 abusive messages, there’s a 100 nice people. If you’re on Twitter, you have to take the good and the bad.
“You just try and brush it off and realise (the trolls) are the ones with the problem, not you.”
Arter understands why some Irish fans were furious at the speculation about him having a change of heart two years ago.
But he maintains there wasn’t a grain of truth to any of it.
“There was opportunities to declare for England at U16 and U17 level, but it was never in my mind,” he said.
“I played for Ireland since 14/15 and the culture and togetherness here is unique and very special. I’ve loved every minute of being in the squads.”
But Arter has a decision to make on his club future. Injuries have been central to a lack of game time but he was fit at the end of the season and didn’t get a sniff.
“I still have three years left at Bournemouth and the respect between me and (Eddie Howe) means there’s no reason I can’t go back there next season and start again.”