Tuesday 13 October 2015 2:02 pm

Euro 2016: Arsenal players contribute more minutes to England’s qualifying campaign than any other club

By: Joe Hall

Arsenal players contributed more time to Roy Hodgson during England's successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 than any other club.

Hodgson's side booked their place at next year's tournament in France with a spotless record, winning all 10 of their games.

Liverpool contributed seven players to the Three Lions' perfect qualifying campaign – more than any other club – but it was Gunners' six representatives who appeared in more minutes on the pitch, collectively playing 1,854 minutes.

Read more: Will England's 100 pc qualifying record translate to success at Euro 2016?

Players from Premier League clubs who finished in last season's top seven made up 74.7 per cent of all minutes played and 84 per cent of all players picked.

Stoke City's Jack Butland, Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey, Southampton's Ryan Bertrand and Fabian Delph and Nathaniel Clyne – now at Manchester City and Liverpool after transferring from Aston Villa and Southampton respectively – are the only exceptions.

Manchester City's Joe Hart played more than anyone else, clocking in 810 minutes after appearing in all but one of England's games.

Gary Cahill of Chelsea – the Blues' only representative throughout qualifying – appeared more than any other outfield player with 720 minutes of game time.

With qualification in the bag, Hodgson is now left with Premier League performances, international friendlies and the fortune of injuries to help him finalise his squad for the summer tournament.

Here's who the England boss favoured throughout qualifying by position.

Goalkeepers

Surely only injury could prevent Joe Hart from being England's No1 for a third successive major tournament next summer. Rival for the spot Jack Butland was only granted a start on the final game, keeping a clean sheet in last night's 3-0 victory over Lithuania.

Defenders

Gary Cahill played in 250 more minutes of England's qualifying campaign than any other defender, while Phil Jagielka and Nathaniel Clyne were the only others to have appeared in more than 50 per cent of games.

However, Hodgson's options were limited by injury – particularly at left-back where Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw's recent absences helped Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs play in 360 minutes – more game time than he's managed in Arsenal's 11 opening games to the season.

Midfielders

Raheem Sterling, now the most expensive English player ever, cemented his position in the national side by playing in over 100 more minutes than other midfielder or striker who wasn't Wayne Rooney. 

When fit, Hodgson most commonly plumped for Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere in centre midfield, but the latter's injury history means he is far from a certain to cross the Channel next June.

Arsenal teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was Hodgson's go-to option off the bench. The winger made the second-highest number of appearances but only saw 343 minutes of action.

Strikers

Wayne Rooney became England's highest ever scorer during qualifying, breaking Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals, and was Hodgson's favoured force up front regardless of club form. 

Jamie Vardy had hardly played in the Premier League at the beginning of England's qualifying campaign last September, but following rich club form for Leicester has earned three caps for the national team.