Rating all 15 of Arsenal's FIFA World Cup participants following Spain's victory in North America
12:27, 20 Jul 2026
The World Cup has finally concluded and Spain are champions. After watching the final, many, besides those of an Argentinian persuasion, will surely have been pleased to see Luis de la Fuente's side come out victorious. Arsenal had 15 representatives at the tournament, all of whom made it through the group stage.
While good for the players, Mikel Arteta and those back at base would have been perhaps selfishly hoping for some early eliminations, and there were some surprises, particularly Brazil and Germany. Yet injuries proved unavoidable, and some might struggle to start on the opening day now against Coventry City.
However, it was still an excellent tournament with three winners crowned, too! football.london has gone through all 15 and given them a score out of ten for their contributions in North America.
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England
There were four players at the tournament for the Three Lions of an Arsenal persuasion with differing experiences. The top performer was Declan Rice ( 7 ), even despite playing through injury most of the time, had some solid displays, and scored in the third-place play-off.
Bukayo Saka ( 7 ) became a big talking point for not playing as much as he should. However, there is little denying that when he did play he showed why Thomas Tuchel was perhaps a little too cautious in using him, especially in the semi-final which preceded a bronze final hat-trick which Tuchel said he missed…
Eberechi Eze ( 5 ) was predominantly a substitute and was impactful without doing much of note or much wrong; however, Noni Madueke ( 3 ) garnered more criticism for his performances and was dropped entirely from the semi-final after something of a disaster quarter-final.
Spain
Mikel Merino ( 8 ) scored the winning goals from the bench against Portugal in the last-16 and Belgium in the quarter-final - there is no doubt Merino has become the cult hero of this Spain side and such a clutch player overall. Martin Zubimendi ( 5 ) only came on in the final as a substitute and will be well-rested for the new season, while David Raya ( n/a ) didn’t play any minutes.
France
William Saliba ( 8 ) was probably France’s most important player despite Kylian Mbappe’s goals which was most demonstrated after he came off injured against Spain in the semi-final. There are now fears over a significant back injury which could considerably impact the campaign with Arsenal.
Brazil
Gabriel ( 6 ) was completely bullied by Erling Haaland in the last-16 clash with Norway and as the ongoing rivalry between the pair goes on, the Man City man won this battle. Gabriel Martinelli ( 7 ) however had a good tournament scoring the winning goal in the last-32 against Japan.
Belgium
Not an Arsenal player anymore but he was during the tournament, Leandro Trossard ( 8 ) scored two and assisted three times in the World Cup, which could be his last. He has now left to join Besiktas with Arsenal expected to replace him with Greek international Christos Tzolis.
Norway
Martin Odegaard ( 8 ) was one of Arsenal’s standout players of the tournament, making history by assisting in each of his first three World Cup appearances, joining a very select few individuals to have done so. If he can stay fit, he will be a big asset for the Gunners next season.
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Germany
Kai Havertz ( 6 ) went out way too early after Germany's shock defeat to Paraguay. The Arsenal man scored three times at the tournament, including in their final match of the competition.
Sweden
Despite winning just one match during the entire tournament, Sweden made it to the last-32 with Viktor Gyokeres ( 6 ) scoring once and earning two assists along the way. His second season with Arsenal is going to be very interesting.
Ecuador
After the drama against Germany, Ecuador were easily eliminated by Mexico, and Piero Hincapie ( 5 ) was sent off in the process. He didn’t necessarily stand out during the tournament but will hope to help defend the Premier League title with the Gunners next season all the same.