Nine Premiership players named by Santini

FRANCE coach Jacques Santini named nine Premiership players, including four from Arsenal, in his Euro 2004 squad.

Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly will lead the side which defends the title they won in 2000.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira is one of four players from the English champions along with Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord. Manchester United’s Louis Saha and Marseille’s Steve Marlet join Henry and David Trezeguet in the strike force, but Auxerre front-man Djibril Cisse is suspended.

The 1998 World Cup winners won all their qualifying matches and face England Croatia and Switzerland in the first round.

FRANCE squad: Barthez (Marseille), Coupet (Lyon), Landreau (Nantes); Boumsong, (Auxerre), Desailly (Chelsea), Gallas (Chelsea), Lizarazu (Bayern Munich),

Silvestre (Man United), Thuram (Juventus), Sagnol (Bayern Munich); Giuly (Monaco), Makelele (Chelsea), Dacourt (Roma), Vieira (Arsenal), Pires (Arsenal), Rothen (Monaco), Wiltord (Arsenal), Zidane (Real Madrid), Pedrett (Sochaux); Henry (Arsenal), Trezeguet (Juventus), Saha (Man United), Marlet (Marseille).