Euro 2012: Blanc Includes Ben Arfa

France manager Laurent Blanc has unveiled his 23-man squad for the summer's European Championships, with seven players from the Premier League included.

Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny, Chelsea's Florent Malouda, Manchester City pair Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri, Patrice Evra from Manchester United and Newcastle United duo Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa have all been selected.

However, Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff and Montpellier centre-back Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa have both missed out on the final 23.

Despite a disappointing season, Gourcuff appeared likely to make the final cut, but an indifferent display in France's final warm-up game against Iceland has seen the 25-year-old miss out.

Yanga-Mbiwa, the skipper of Ligue 1 champions Montpellier, has yet to make a full international appearance for Les Bleus.

Blanc, who is unbeaten in his last 19 France games, has selected a largely unbalanced squad for the finals, with just three central defenders and two out-and-out strikers, with a host of midfield options available to him.

Laurent Koscielny, Philippe Mexes and Adil Rami are the only genuine centre-backs in the 23-man squad, while Karim Benzema and Oliver Giroud are the only strikers to make the trip to Poland and Ukraine.

Giroud, who could spearhead a two-man forward line for Blanc's side this summer, believes the French could achieve great things, starting against England in their opening game.

"We're capable of great things," he said. "We've beaten great footballing nations. We got a slight scare against Iceland, but we showed our character. There are things that need to be worked on, but there are good things. We just have to find the right balance, to be serene defensively."

"We can't wait for the competition to start and to clash with the English. We're impatient to measure ourselves against them and to see if we're capable of getting out of this tight group."

After taking on England in Donetsk on 11 June, France face Ukraine on 15 June and Sweden on 19 June in their other Group D matches.

France squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), Alou Diarra (Marseille), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St-Germain), Yann M'vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Manchester City).

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris St-Germain), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)