Mikel Arteta’s dreams of playing for England have been dashed, when it was revealed that the Spaniard is ineligible.
It was rumoured that Fabio Capello had spoken to Arteta about playing for England recently about the possibility of him wearing the white jersey.
Arteta, who has gained British citizenship after living in Liverpool for five years, was entuasiastic about the idea.
Speaking after Everton’s 1-1 draw against Wolves last month, he told Match of the Day, “If one day the opportunity comes, obviously I would have to consider playing for England very seriously.â€
It has now been revealed, however, that Arteta cannot play for the Three Lions.
“Under our understanding of Fifa rules the player is ineligible to play for England,” an FA spokeman revealed.
FIFA state on their website, “At the time of a player’s first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current Association, he must already have the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play.”
Arteta has represented his native Spain at the under 16 European Championships and at the under 17 World Cup.
