The managers have finally announced the official 23-man squads for the upcoming European Championships, with nine Arsenal stars set to feature in the competition.
We will only have the one English star to follow in Jack Wilshere, despite Danny Welbeck looking a shoe-in prior to picking up a nine-month knee injury this month. We could easily have gone to the tournament without a single entry, but Jack The Lad managed to prove his fitness to Roy Hodgson, and now looks likely to be a key member of the squad.
Aaron Ramsey will also be representing the home nations, and will also be a hugely key player for his country this summer. Gareth Bale will of course be the man to watch, but Ramsey is hugely important to Wales also.
The favourites to lift the trophy are hosts France, and we have two key members in their side also. Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud could well be lifting the Euro 2016 trophy. You should also keep an eye on Paul Pogba, who is currently linked with a possible move to the Emirates.
Another Gunner with a great chance of success, is our stand-out star of the season, Mesut Ozil. Germany are the current world champions, and will no doubt be deadly in front of goal. Should our midfielder create the amount of chances per game he did for us this term, they should go all the way once again.
Hector Bellerin was a late inclusion into Spain’s Euro squad, with him making the most of Dani Carvajal’s injury which was picked up at the weekend.
Petr Cech has had a fine season, but his side the Czech Republic are not amongst the favourites to win. He will of course play alongside Tomas Rosicky in the side, and I will be hoping they can escape Group D, along with Bellerin’s Spain.
Wojciech Szczesny is our last official player to be playing in the tournament, for Poland of course, although Granit Xhaka has been confirmed as joining our club, but he can only move to the club when the transfer window re-opens on July 1.
Maybe we could even arrange for Spain’s Morata to join us before the tournament also…
Who are your picks to win the tournament?
Patrick J