Arsenal’s academy stars are shining brightly for England at the u17 European Championship so far, with a number of goal contributions despite the team struggling overall.

Arsenal’s Sam Greenwood, Miguel Azeez and Yunus Musah were all called up for the England squad playing in the tournament in the Republic of Ireland. The team opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against France, with Greenwood and Azeez both starting and the former scoring England’s only goal from the penalty spot.

That performance earned them both another start against the Netherlands on Monday, and once again, they didn’t disappoint. Azeez set up the opening goal early on, which was swiftly followed by an equaliser. Then Greenwood gave England the lead with another penalty before they conceded twice in the remainder of the first half.

You certainly couldn’t accuse the Arsenal boys of letting their team down, having contributed to all of the goals at that stage. Yet every lead was being cancelled out by an inability to defend it. The Netherlands ended up winning the game 5-2, severely damaging England’s hopes of progressing.

It’s no surprise to see the Arsenal pair thriving on international duty though. Despite his age (16), Azeez has been a regular for the Arsenal u18s in midfield this season as they topped the south division in the league. Meanwhile, Greenwood (17) has scored double figures from the wing after signing for the club from Sunderland last summer.

Unfortunately, Musah appears to be having some trouble gaining clearance for the tournament, as he hasn’t even featured on the bench so far. Hopefully, England can resolve his situation and include him in the final group stage game against Sweden.