I had an embarrassing Euro 2024 moment but surprise Arsenal exit came after 'too fat' comment

Former Arsenal prospect Donyell Malen joined an unwanted group at Euro 2024 as he became the latest player to score an own goal at the tournament. His unfortunate moment against Austria in Berlin saw Holland fall behind in the final match in Group D.

A defeat for Ronald Koeman's side would see Ralf Rangnick's side top the group, ahead of France, who were in action against Poland in the other fixture, with Oranje left in third and hoping for qualification via the trap door as the best third-placed team. However, Cody Gakpo equalised after the break to move Holland back to the top of Group D.

Malen was on the books of Arsenal during his formative years, ending his eight-year association with Ajax. The 25-year-old arrived during the 2015/16 campaign and featured in the young Gunners' Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League campaigns.

The Holland attacker did get a sense of first-team action for the North London club when he joined Arsene Wenger's side in Australia for their pre-season tour. He made his debut in a 2-0 win over Sydney, as Per Mertesacker and Alexandre Lacazette were on target in the exhibition.

However, Malen's time was up a short time later, as he was sold to PSV Eindhoven a month later. Since then, he has gone on to make almost 250 senior appearances at the likes of the Dutch giants, where he won the Eredivisie, and current club Borussia Dortmund.

But his North London exit came as a surprise, he said: "I heard him say that I came in too fat. That surprised me. They had already been working at Arsenal for two months when I arrived. Then, of course, you are not immediately at the same level. I was not yet match fit, but too fat? No."

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The Holland international had previously told Eindhovens Dagblad that he had made up his mind to leave for PSV despite things going well in north London. He added: “It was going well in England, but I still wanted to leave Arsenal because I had the opportunity to sign for PSV. I took that chance."

He will not want to see his moment against Austria again after sliding to clear a cross, only to steer the ball past a despairing Bart Verbruggen. In his international career, Malen has made 33 appearances, scoring just seven times.