Will Mikel Arteta Get a Chance with Luis Aragones in Charge?

Sometimes you wonder whether Luis Aragones even knows where England is—never mind Everton or Merseyside.

Mikel Arteta has been in fine form for nearly the entire season for the Toffees' and is often regarded as one of the elite players in the English Premier League.

Behind the play of their creative right midfielder, Everton have launched a bid for the fourth and final Champions League spot and were unlucky to bow out of the UEFA Cup following a heartbreaking shootout loss to Fiorentina.

Yet, despite the current attention surrounding Arteta, Aragones has once again left the midfielder out of his provisional squad of players after he was forced to name his group of 31.

And for what reason?

With the entire English media building up and praising the Spanish maestro, you would think Arteta has done enough to at least garner some consideration from the Spanish boss.

Some analysts are even beginning to joke about how Arteta would walk onto the England squad as the country's top right midfielder—beating out the likes of David Bentley and David Beckham.

Could it simply because of politics? Or maybe it's simply because Aragones hasn't watched enough of his fair share of Premier League football?

Then again, it wouldn't be surprising if we found out that Aragones hasn't even made an honest attempt to scout his country's top talent.

Whatever it is, it's costing Mikel Arteta a well deserved spot in Spain. How could someone like David Albelda be given a spot in the provisional squad when he hasn't played for nearly the entire season following his fallout with Ronald Koeman?

Arteta has always stated that his ambition is to play for Spain and he should be considered ahead of a handful of the midfielders picked by Aragones. If he were given the opportunity, he could even possibly start a game or two for his country in the proper situation.

Arteta's agent, Inaki Ibanez, sparked controversy after he suggested that Arteta would be in the Spain squad if he were playing for one of the big four in either England or Spain.

"Mikel deserves better. If he was at one of the best four clubs in England or Spain he would be an international," said Ibanez in the Sun.

While Ibanez's comments are controversial and unsettling to some Everton supporters, he does make a solid point. Only five players from England made it in the 31 player squad, including four from Liverpool and one from Arsenal.

If Arteta swapped his shirt for a Red one, would there be different fate for the former Rangers and Barcelona man?

Chances are he would probably get notice provided he's given enough playing time. Arteta's best hope of getting in on the international scene would be if there were a new Spain manager with a different vision than what Aragones had in mind.

Until then, it's an unfortunate situation for a crafty little player. One that can only get better.

Spain's Provisional 31 Man Squad For Euro 2008 

GOALKEEPERS: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Andres Palop (Sevilla)

DEFENDERS: Angel Lopez (Villarreal), Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Juanito Gutierrez (Betis), Raul Albiol (Valencia), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Pablo Ibanez (Atletico Madrid), Walter Pernia (Atletico Madrid), Antonio Lopez (Atletico Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Fernando Navarro (Mallorca)

MIDFIELDERS: Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), David Albelda (Valencia), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Ruben de la Red (Getafe), Pablo Hernandez (Getafe), Albert Riera (Espanyol)

FORWARDS: Joaquin Sanchez (Valencia), David Silva (Valencia), David Villa (Valencia), Bojan Krkic (Barcelona), Daniel Guiza (Mallorca), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Raul Tamudo (Espanyol), Luis Garcia (Espanyol)

In another surprise, Raul Gonzalez, the Real Madrid captain was left off the list after accumulating 102 caps for his country but has had a conflict with Aragones since the 2006 World Cup. The striker has been in good form and one could make the argument that he would be more deserving of a spot than Luis Garcia, Raul Tamudo or Bojan Krkic.