The old boys at the 2014 world cup.

The Gunners through the years

Four national teams featuring Arsenal players have made it through to the finals of the World Cup in 2014.

Belgium, Costa Rica, France and Germany have all shown tremendous promise this year, while Spain and England each went home in the group stages, despite having Arsenal players on their side.

While the betting odds for Betsafe have tipped Germany as the biggest contender of the big four, for much of the time we thought anything could happen in this year’s World Cup.

The Arsenal team have had a tremendous run on an international scale over the years each playing for their individual national teams from England to Spain. Here’s a look back at our boys and how they’ve got on over the years.

Tony Adams

He may have been born in the year that England won the World Cup, but it wasn’t until the 90s that Tony Adams had his chance to shine for his country. In 1990, England manager Bobby Robson surprised everybody by not including Adams in his World Cup squad, but Adams soon proved his international prowess by sharing the England captaincy with David Platt in 1992. Six years later, he went on to play in the World Cup finals.

Thierry Henry

1998 may not have been the year for England but it was certainly the year for Thierry Henry, who helped take his national team France right through to the finals and take home the trophy. Henry has had an extremely impressive international record with France, winning the UEFA 2000 and 2003 Confederations Cup, and in 2007, he became France’s top goal scorer of all time.

David Seaman

Nowadays people may remember David Seaman more for his huge head of hair than his goalkeeping skills, but at the turn of the century, he was making memories for England in the World Cup. Unfortunately, they weren’t great memories – the year was 2002 and it was a tense 1-1 against Brazil, which was soon won thanks to a sensation free kick from Ronaldinho, which Seaman sadly conceded.

Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas played in three international tournaments during his eight year spell at Arsenal, and in 2010, he was particularly successful in helping to take Spain all the way through to the final. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, however, it could be argued that leaving Arsenal put a black mark on his international record – the former 2010 winners were the first to go out of this year’s World Cup.

Robin Van Persie

Robin_van_Persie_ManUtd_(cropped)

With the Netherlands still very much in the World Cup, things are looking positive for our man Robin Van Persie. The 30-year-old has played in the same amount of World Cups as the aforementioned Fabregas, but this year, he’s fared far better – scoring a sensational header in the Netherlands’ 5-1 victory over Spain.

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