England will have to wait for Wilshere
JACK WILSHERE has been told he has still not done enough to make the England squad despite Arsene Wenger almost begging Gareth Southgate to include him.
The England manager will again overlook the Arsenal midfielder when he names his squad today for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil on November 10 and 14 at Wembley.
By contrast, Wenger will bring him in against Red Star Belgrade tonight at the Emirates. But it is the Arsenal manager’s decision to restrict Wilshere to just 13 minutes of action in the Premier League that is understood to be behind the decision to reward Spurs midfielder Harry Winks for his fine debut against Lithuania with another call-up.
Even though Southgate travelled to the Emirates on Saturday in the hope of seeing Wilshere in the Premier League and discussed the 25-year-old with Wenger before kick-off, he was once again left on the bench.
“I spoke to him about Jack before the Swansea game,” said Wenger. “He just asked me how he is and I said no restrictions. He’s in a very good way.”
He also urged Southgate to consider the long-term benefits of welcoming Wilshere back into the England fold for the first time since this time last year, when he was an unused substitute for the games against Scotland and Spain while on loan at Bournemouth. Wenger (3-4-3) said: “I am convinced it would help him, personally. When you have been so frustrated so many times, every positive experience is welcome.
“It would be a positive as well because you have the World Cup and you have a new manager who has not used him yet, so that for certain would play a positive part in his head.”
Even at club level, Wilshere’s future is slightly uncertain, with his current deal due to run out in the summer, but Wenger wants him to keep his head clear of those worries until next month. “I wanted to give him six months not to think about that and see where we go. But yes, the aim is to clear up the situation before the transfer window opens,” said Wenger.
“We have Mesut Ozil too in the last year of his contract and ideally you want to keep both of them.”
Ultimately, Wenger sees the pair as direct rivals for a place among the front three and feels the change to a back three could unlock the best from Wilshere, rather than deploying him in a deeper role.
“I see him more as a player who can affect the game in the final third than a box-to-box player,” said Wenger.
Arsenal yesterday announced the capacity of the Emirates is set to be increased by 780 Club Level seats, taking it up to 60,600 in a two-stage development process. CECH; DEBUCHY, ELNENY, HOLDING; NELSON, COQUELIN, WILLOCK, MAITLAND-NILES; WALCOTT, WILSHERE, GIROUD (4-2-3-1) BORJAN; STOJKOVIC, LE TALLEC, SAVIC, BABIC; KRSTICIC, DONALD; SRNIC, KANGA, RADONJIC; BOAKYE REFEREE: L Banti (Ita) KICK-OFF: 8.05pm TV: BT Sport 2