Arsenal players at Euro 2024: The story so far

After another impressive season where we came so close to glory, many Arsenal players have been called up to play for their respective nations at the euros. From Poland’s Jakub Kiwior to Germany’s Kai Havertz, we really do have a variety of players looking for European success. Midway through the tournament, let’s see how everyone’s getting on

Let’s start with those unlucky enough to have been eliminated in the group stage:

Kieran Tierney

In case you forgot, Kieran Tierney is still an Arsenal player and spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad. It’s safe to say his Scotland team didn’t have the best of campaigns. After being thrashed 5-1 against the Germans on the opening day, mustering a respectable performance against the Swiss, and then conceding a 100th-minute winner to Hungary, it was a tournament to forget as they crashed out early. And for poor Kieran Tierney, his tournament ended even earlier, being forced off on a stretcher in his second game against Switzerland.

Jakub Kiwior

Jakub Kiwior was rather unfortunate to see his Poland side match up with a really challenging group. It saw him playing in a back 3 against a quality Netherlands side,  a well-drilled Austria team, and one of the favorites France, who they managed to get their only point off of. Despite finishing bottom of the group, Kiwior had promising performances, particularly against France, playing the full 270 minutes for his country. 

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Someone who had a disappointing tournament was Oleksandr Zinchenko. As one of Ukraine’s main players, it was expected that he would inspire them through into the knockouts, given their group which included underdogs Slovakia and Romania alongside Belgium. After 3 matches, all teams in the group ended up on 4 points, and unfortunately for Zinny, his team became the first ever to exit the euros from the group stage with 4 points. He provided an assist against Slovakia but this wasn’t enough to see his country survive the group stages.

Now we move on to the players who made it through to the knockouts:

Leandro Trossard

Leandro Trossardand and his Belgium team had a lackluster tournament, scraping by with 4 points in the group stages and being eliminated in the round of 16 by France. Trossard himself hasn’t been able to replicate his form for Arsenal, failing to contribute to any goals for his country. He and Zinchenko faced off as Belgium played Ukraine, in a game that ended 0-0. Our Italian Jorginho also didn’t have the best of tournaments, playing the full 90 minutes just once in the group stage and being benched for the game against Switzerland where they were eliminated.

Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz is having a good campaign in his home country; playing up front for a German team that are top scorers in this tournament so far. With two goals so far both from the penalty spot, Kai is continuing the impressive form he had during the season, and whilst the end product from open play hasn’t been there, he has been a constant threat to opposition backlines. His link-up play in particular with other attackers like Musiala and Wirtz has helped Germany become one of the most exciting teams to watch in this tournament.

His Germany team have a tough fixture in the Quarter Finals, however, facing David Raya’s Spain.

David Raya

Raya hasn’t had too much game time, being the number two goalkeeper for his country. Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente seems to just prefer Athletic Club’s Unai Simón, however in Spain’s last group game when they played Albania, David Raya made what looks like will be his only appearance at the tournament. He had a very good game, keeping a clean sheet and making 4 saves.

William Saliba

Probably our best performing player at the euros is William Saliba, who has played every minute for a France team who look really good at the back. A partnership between him and Upamecano has helped his team concede only once, through a penalty. Coming into the tournament he wasn’t expected to start, given that coach Deschamps had preferred to play Ibrahima Konaté on previous occasions. However, from the first minute, he has cemented his place on the team sheet and has dealt really well against attackers like Lukaku.

Aaron Ramsdale, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka.

Lastly, our three English representatives are Aaron Ramsdale, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka. If you’ve been following England you’ll realise that there have been many problems with our team in the media. Among this is a question about where we should play Saka, and if Chelsea’s Palmer works better for Southgate. This tournament has shown us that wherever Saka plays, he puts in solid displays. We saw this in the first game against Serbia where he got an assist as a winger, and also against Slovakia where he became a left-back in extra time.

Declan Rice has been criticised at times by the media during the euros. Former player Paul Scholes has claimed that he takes too many touches. While he has had some poor performances, you can always count on him to provide lots of stability when playing, which is one of the reasons why he’s one of Southgate’s favorites.

And finally, Aaron Ramsdale, who hasn’t played a minute at this year’s euros and probably won’t unless Pickford gets injured or suspended. After a season where he was second choice at club level, it’s not too much of a surprise that he is second choice for the Three Lions as well. 

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