France national team manager Didier Deschamps has selected his 23-man squad for Euro 2016 on Thursday. While most of his selections are justified, the inclusion of the Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud ahead of Nice forward Hatem Ben Arfa has raised eyebrows.
In the absence of Karim Benzema, who will miss the tournament after receiving a ban for his involvement in an alleged blackmail scandal from the French federation last month, Deschamps has included as many six forwards to his squad but named the in-form forward Ben Arfa as a reserve.
Ben Arfa has enjoyed a prolific season for Nice where he scored 17 goals for the Ligue 1 club and has recently been linked with a move to La Liga giants Barcelona.