Arsenal have long had a rather cosmopolitan squad and the current crop contains players from more than a dozen different European countries, plus others from further afield. With the group stage of qualifying for the Euros done and dusted, this article will take a look at which Arsenal players are likely to get a taste of tournament action in Germany in the summer of 2024. We’ll first go through the players who could (or should!) be in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, then we’ll examine those who might well feature for other sides at the tournament.
Note that all the stats given are correct as of 22nd November 2023.
Arsenal Players Who Could Feature for England at Euro 2024
Arsenal currently have seven English players in their first-team squad, all of them aged in their 20s, and all but one of them having played for the England senior team at least once. But which of them will be on the plane to Germany?
Player | Age | Position | England Caps | Chances of Making England Squad |
---|---|---|---|---|
Declan Rice | 24 | Defensive Midfielder | 48 | 8/10 |
Aaron Ramsdale | 25 | Goalkeeper | 4 | 5/10 |
Bukayo Saka | 22 | Winger | 32 | 9/10 |
Emile Smith Rowe | 23 | Midfielder | 3 | 2/10 |
Eddie Nketiah | 24 | Striker | 1 | 4/10 |
Reiss Nelson | 23 | Winger | 0 | 1/10 |
Ben White | 26 | Defender | 4 | 1/10 |
Dead Certs: Declan Rice & Bukayo Saka
Both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have been key players for Gareth Southgate in recent times and there’s no reason to suggest either will fall out of favour anytime soon. Saka has started the season in his usual impressive fashion, scoring four and producing four assists in his opening 11 Premier League matches. Rice, meanwhile, has been as steady as reliable for Arsenal as he was for his former club West Ham and looks almost undroppable for England. Assuming both stay injury-free, they are all but assured of a place in Southgate’s Euros squad.
Fair Chance: Aaron Ramsdale & Eddie Nketiah
Considering Aaron Ramsdale has been in and around the England squad since 2021, he might be a little disappointed to have picked up only four caps. Southgate has a clear number one in Jordan Pickford, but most view Ramsdale as the number two. The problem is, since the arrival of David Raya he’s starting to be viewed as the understudy for his club too. This could spell problems for the keeper in terms of his England career, especially if other English stoppers start to force themselves onto Southgate’s radar in the coming months.
Eddie Nketiah, meanwhile, has been in fine fettle in the 2023/24 season thus far and he’s certainly been noticed by Southgate (having been handed his debut in a friendly in October 2023). Much will depend on how he performs for Arsenal for the rest of the season and indeed whether other players who are perhaps ahead of him suffer any injuries or major drops in form. Overall, he has a fair chance of making it into the squad.
Very Unlikely: Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson & Ben White
While all three of the remaining English players have played for the Three Lions before, none has a brilliant chance of making it to Germany. Ben White, for instance, was included in Southgate’s squad for the last World Cup, but pulled out for personal reasons and hasn’t played for his country since.
Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, meanwhile, are not getting enough games for Arsenal to really force themselves into the equation. While that may change in the coming weeks and months, there are lots of top-quality players ahead of them so they would have to do something remarkably good to get a place in the England Euros squad.
Arsenal Players Who Could Feature for England at Euro 2024
Now let’s turn our attention to non-English players who could feature at the Euros.
Player | Age | Position | National Side | Caps |
---|---|---|---|---|
William Saliba | 22 | Centre-Back | France | 11 |
Martin Ødegaard | 24 | Midfielder | Norway | 55 |
Jurriën Timber | 22 | Defender | Netherlands | 15 |
Jakub Kiwior | 23 | Defender | Poland | 19 |
Cédric Soares | 32 | Defender | Portugal | 34 |
Leandro Trossard | 28 | Forward | Belgium | 28 |
Jorginho | 31 | Defensive Midfielder | Italy | 50 |
Fábio Vieira | 23 | Attacking Midfielder | Portugal | 25 |
David Raya | 28 | Goalkeeper | Spain | 3 |
Oleksandr Zinchenko | 26 | Midfielder, Left-Back | Ukraine | 58 |
Karl Hein | 21 | Goalkeeper | Estonia | 25 |
Kai Havertz | 24 | Forward, Attacking Midfielder | Germany | 41 |
Many of the Arsenal players mentioned in the table above have very good chances of being selected for their national sides and featuring at Euro 2024. That isn’t the case for one of Arsenal’s top performers, however, as Martin Ødegaard’s Norway have failed to qualify after finishing third in their qualifying group behind Spain and Scotland and not even making it to the play-offs through the Nations League route.
Poland’s Jakub Kiwior, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Estonia’s Karl Hein, meanwhile, will only have a chance of playing at the tournament itself if their respective sides make it through the play-offs in March 2024.
Kai Havertz has clearly been having something of a crisis of confidence for a while, something that probably wasn’t helped when selected to play at left-back for Germany recently. He desperately needs to get some goals under his belt, and if he finally finds some form we think he’ll be part of the Germany squad. It might even be the tournament that helps him turn things around for a career that is beginning to falter badly.
Could an Arsenal Player Win Euro 2024?
While we would love to see Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka playing on the winning side in the Euro 2024 final, we think it is more realistic to suggest that France defender, William Saliba, is a better prospect for going all the way. Although England are seen by some bookies as the joint-favourites to win the tournament (along with France), we think Les Bleus are much better placed to be triumphant (especially based on the last couple of England performances!).