Robbie Keane In; Harry Arter Out of Irish Squad

Both Ireland and Harry Arter were the big losers with the announcement tonight of the Republic of Ireland squad for Euro 2016.

The Bournemouth centre-midfielder, who was hugely impressive for Ireland against Holland before the weekend, picked up a thigh injury in training yesterday, and returned to his club for treatment today – a sure sign that he would not be fit enough to play in France. He will be a significant loss to Ireland, a team that badly needs an injection of Arter’s ability to get on the ball confidently and make passes.

The big surprise was the inclusion of Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, Keiron Westwood ahead of David Forde. While there can be no doubt about who is the man in form – Westwood has had a superb season – most commentators had assumed that Martin O’Neill would be loyal to those who had turned up and played from the start of his time as manager.

That may well have been a consideration where Aiden McGeady is concerned. The winger who ended a poor season being left out of the Sheffield Wednesday side – having moved to the club to gain first team action – was not at anything remotely like his sharpest during tonight’s game against Belarus, which Ireland lost 2-1. But O’Neill knows him well – and believes in his ability. Whether he can get him up to the pitch necessary to perform during the tournament remains to be seen.

There are no other major surprises in the panel. The young Oxford United player Callum O’Dowda made his debut tonight against Belarus and added a bit of badly needed vim to the side going forward. There were those who thought he had done enough to edge in ahead of McGeady or even Stephen Quinn – but that would been a gamble too far for O’Neill.

Others to be disappointed include Darron Gibson, who didn’t do enough tonight to force his way into contention – though many will consider that he offers more guile and passing ability than some of the midfielders who are travelling; Eunan O’Kane, who was always an outside bet; and David McGoldrick of Ipswich Town, who looked good against Holland, but was only given a brief run tonight.

Meanwhile the Irish captain Robbie Keane (pictured) has been included despite the fact that a calf injury has kept him from training for the past few days. Given the Irish shift away from an old-fashioned 4-4-2 system, Keane is unlikely to get much game time in France – though he might be used towards the end of matches if a goal is desperately needed to keep Ireland in the tournament.

Indeed, the superb form of Shane Long – who has emerged as a top international striker – aside, Ireland look particularly weak upfront. Jonathan Walters, who has also proven himself a major player over the course of the tournament to date, can do a job upfront, but he has latterly been used far more in a wide role both by Ireland and by his club Stoke. The problem is that Darryl Murphy looked badly out of sorts tonight and never got a look in against a relatively weak Belarus side. Having topped the scoring chart in the English Championship in the 2014-2015 season, he did not have a good season this year – and has yet to score an international goal. And, to compound his misery, the Ipswich striker missed a really good chance to break his duck tonight, jumping too early and putting a clear-cut opportunity over the bar.

In response to the absence of back-up for Shane Long, Martin O’Neill has turned to James McClean to play a central role recently – and this may indeed be the next best option available to him.

A lot depends on how the team is shaped, but assuming that there are no further injury scares, then his best eleven may well be:

Randolph; Coleman, O’Shea, Clark, Brady; Walters, McCarthy, Whelan, Hoolahan, McClean; Long.

Right now, that’s the eleven that Hot Press would start the opening match with. But we will see. Indeed we will...

The full Irish squad for Euro 2016 is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Shay Given, Darren Randolph, Keiren Westwood.
Defenders: Seamus Coleman, Cyrus Christie, Ciaran Clark, Richard Keogh, John O’Shea, Shane Duffy, Stephen Ward, Robbie Brady.
Midfielders: Aiden McGeady, James McClean, Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Jeff Hendrick, Wes Hoolahan, David Meyler, Stephen Quinn.
Forwards: Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, Jonathan Walters.