Jack Wilshere was left out of England’s World Cup squad this week with Gareth Southgate reportedly concerned about his fitness levels.
Having stayed available for most of the season this decision seemed to be about his ability to play the kind of game the England manager wants, but when your team includes Eric Dier it’s hard to make a case that Wilshere wouldn’t have added something to the 23 man panel.
It’s a disappointment for the 26 year old, still yet to sign a new deal with Arsenal, and he had his say on the matter yesterday via his Twitter account.
“Think it’s about time I had my say,” he said.
“It goes without saying that I’m naturally incredibly disappointed to have been left out of the England squad for the World Cup.
“I’ve felt fit, sharp and strong all season and believe I should be in the squad!
“And given the chance I could have made a real impact. However, I have to respect the manager’s decision and would like to wish the whole squad all the very best for the tournament.
“I will always be an England fan and will be supporting the boys with the rest of the nation.”
Danny Welbeck is the only Arsenal man in the England squad, while Alexandre Lacazette could only make the stand-by squad for France despite finishing the season well.
unpopular opinion of mine, but i dont think Lacazette has convinced me, or Didier Deschamps, for that matter of being in the Arsenal/French starting XI. He’s a decent striker, but can’t see him being in a World Cup/Premier League squad.
Let’s hope he proves me wrong
Edit: premier league/world cup winning squad*
Giroud continues to be France’s top striker! Why did we let him go?
Because as great a fella he is and a good servant to the club etc i dont think he ever hit 10 goals and a couple assists in 13 games like auba
Exactly there’s no need to be negative about this. Hopefully Wilshere signs a new contract regardless of the new manager and gets a good preseason in him and responds on the pitch by having a good full season. We actually have a bunch of players not going to the World Cup which is a good thing for arsenal as we’ll have them in preseason. It’s only Ozil, Elnenny, Iwobi, and welbeck going to the World Cup. I’m optimistic about next season and excited about seeing most of our squad have a full preseason so they’re actually fit for the start… Read more »
No Granit Xhaka in the Swiss WC squad?
You forgot Joel Campbell
Lol
International football is different pace and Giroud has always done well for France. Lacazette has scored more goals than Giroud let’s not forget. It should have been Welbeck we should have got rid of but we had no choice and this is what happens when you do January business. Still feel gutted for lacazette.
To make room for aubamayang.
Because France have a few little speedy fellas but only one big handsome French bloke.
That’s France. To be fair their other options look good upfront, including the standby list.
England on the other hand? If Welbeck waljd into your squad, all due respect, every time despite his form or fitness you have to be glad it’s Tunisia and Iran.
Walks!
Lacazette doesn’t add anything different to Griezmann and the other one, giroud does. I suspect that’s the thinking
Yeah it seems to be. Wonder why Atletico wanted Lacazette so badly then though.
Still, it would be good to start a season with our guys fit and with a point to prove.
Because Athletico are resigned to fact that at some point Greizmann will leave.
Thing is, the French squad is absolutely ridiculous. So there isn’t any shame in Lacazette for not getting picked. Jack on the other hand, have you guys seen the England midfield? Like Jesus. If I was Wilshere I would be raging. But its clear that Southgate has an agenda against him, as he said, to paraphrase ‘Jack needs to play more minutes.’ Then he goes and plays the most games he played for us in a long time. But still gets dropped.. and there is NO way Livermore who went down with West Brom deserves a seat on the plane… Read more »
I dont really understand how people like Soutgate still train top teams. He’s clearly stuck in some kind of idea that WC football, is similar to what was played in 1980’s PL. Also look at all the midfielders in the best teams in the PL. almost non of them are english. Only liverpool deploy englishmen in their midfield, and their midfield (and defence), is constantly being rescued by their front three (letting in 6 goals against roma). Wilshere should have been one of the first players on the team sheet, simply because he can play up against the small technical… Read more »
I think this hits it on the head. Southgate is bringing a Championship side mentality and strategy to the WC. Defend and hustle in the back, and hope that works well enough to spring attackers to counter-poach a goal here or there. Look at the midfield. He’s not looking for a technical possession based game at all, with constant pressure on the opposition 1/3. Therefore, Jack’s not the ideal candidate. He’s best with more possession, and buildup transitions through the middle. Does England have anyone else capable of doing that in the midfield 1/3 that he could play with? Southgate’s… Read more »
To be fair, perhaps he looked at his options and decided he doesn’t have 11 or more players who could play a technical game, thus he had to go with the defend and counter style which he had players for. Not that I care to defend Southgate, but as a national team coach, you are handicapped by what the clubs produce and you must play in a style that best suits the players available to you. Either way, Wilshire probably could have provided something useful, but the decision was probably based on him not being able to play in his… Read more »
Welcome to the wonderful world of England managers Jack! Theo also went to a World Cup too young, didn’t play; got older, wasn’t picked or was injured, not picked when fit and his early promise was left unused. Jack was set to be the England pivot for his generation; got injured or picked when not fit and now looks likely to have missed the boat (or plane). Southgate using fitness as an easy excuse but probably hasn’t seen enough of Jack. (Picks Welbz though, strange!?) We must just hope that Jack doesn’t go off the rails through the summer, signs… Read more »
He proved his ability early season, as well as his fitness. Then fatigue caught up with him and his form in the second half of the season was average at best and he looked laboured and plodding.
Might have been taken as a different option but England managers have a history of taking players regardless of form and it’s never worked out, I think southgates made the correct decision. I now hope he can move to another club and do something productive with the rest of his career
I would have taken Lacazette instead of Thauvin but i can understand why Deschamps left Lacazette out.
It’s not as exciting as last World Cup. Lot of one season wonders everywhere. Some of the best players have retired from the game.
For Arsenal it’s looking good because we have-
PEA, Laca, Mkhitaryan, Jack, Ramsey, Cazorla, Mustafi, Bellerin, Kolasinac available for pre-season.
For me that’s a good thing. We have less players who are going to be affected by their World Cup excursion. It’s good for the new manager to have fit players to test his tactics and formations in preseason.
Only problem is, Laca is a number 9 and Thuavin a winger. A left footed right winger who just delivered 20+ league goals and some assists plus being their stand out player as L’OM made it all the way to a European cup fina . Yes better than payet before you assume. He’s been brilliant all season and he deserved it and if he didn’t make it, it would be another winger not a number 9 in his place. Koman or Martial would get the nod. Problem for Laca is that it had to be him or Greizman, who for… Read more »
They are taking a really young team. I’m not sure if i would take Lemar, Thauvin and Ousmane Dembele all at the same time. They are all exciting but France don’t have a genuine finisher other than Giroud. Griezmann mostly scores scrappy goals. Also, i’m surprised Kurzawa didn’t make it. Anyways, their loss is our gain. We need our strikers to compete for the PL golden boot next season. We have room for a pacy dynamic Left winger/striker hybrid in our squad to partner with Laca and Auba. If we get one i’m convinced one of our guys will get… Read more »
Well Jack’s mediocre second half of the season form didn’t justify selection.
He hasn’t been great, but equally nobody in the England squad has the skill set he has. Time will tell. To be fair to Southgate one only has to look back at Iceland, Wales, the Greek euro winning side and even Portugal to some degree to recognise that on international stage where time to polish a team is limited, getting a group of solid no thrills workhorses to stick to their jobs can be almost enough. What they are maybe lacking is the Ronaldo type game changer. But who knows, Rashford (as we sadly know) likes a big game. Kane… Read more »
Normally those would be justified fears. However, there’s zero threat of a Sp*rs led team winning anything.
Yea a lot of people seem to forget how poor he’s been of late.
I think its incredibly harsh that he didnt get picked, I really do feel for Jack
This has probably done him a major turn. This season he’s played more games then he’s played in years and looked very flat towards the end which has to be expected. His body now needs the rest. He should use this as motivation to come back fitter and stronger.
Southgate has made the right decision. I’m a massive fan of Jack: he’s one of the few English players who has that extra touch of class. He would definitely not be out of place at a World Cup. However, his horrendous injury record makes him far too much of a risk to take to Russia. He’s a player who could break down at any moment, either during a game or in training. But let’s look on the bright side: England’s loss is our gain. Hopefully, Wilshere will sign a new contract and then get a good rest this summer. He’s… Read more »
Welbeck has a pretty good scoring record for England. I was as annoyed as anyone that we ballsed up the situation in January losing Giroud yet keeping him, but now am somewhat at peace with him sticking about at Arsenal for another season as a squad player. Jack did dip as the season went on but you might wonder if he was paying self back into some form in the Athletico home and Burnley games towards the very end. The decision to leave him makes sense only up until you see the choice to take all of Dier, Henderson, Delph… Read more »
Admire Southgate for going for a more youthful approach. No great pressure this time….for a change.
Jack has received a mass of abuse on social media after his reaction…..not surprisingly.
Best to get on with sorting out his career. You never know he will only be 30 at the next WC but it’s down to him subject to remaining fit.
Super Jack will be called in on a merci card from new Fifa boss Arsene Wenger when six England workhorses go down with injury and hit the winner in a 3-1 upset over Brazil in the final after a mazy run … Danny scores the other two. Or not.
Should be there for his creative skill at least. Shit decision.
think laca can now have a summer off to reflect on his transition to the prem, and come back stronger next season. hopefully this will fuel his desire – he was a different player in the run in, confident, hyped up, constantly getting involved. was very impressed.
the nightmare would have been a poor world cup by france bringing him back down to a slump.
A decision that will end Southgate’s managerial career I suspect. If England don’t produce any creativity it is curtains for Gareth.
A lot of comments suggesting he should be there because of a unique skill set. Are those the same people who thought an unfit and/or out of form Beckham, Owen, Rooney etc in the past should go becuase of their quality?
The England’s squad should be made up of form players. It’s not a computer game
Sometimes you need variety to break down different teams. Jack is always a good option off the bench in the last 20 minutes to try and unlock a tight defense. Not many of the guys in the team have the creativity Jack does. I think that’s why a lot of people thought he should have been included, and I think Lallana too despite his recent injury.
Insane. In a squad that only comes together periodically, with a rotating cast of characters, and needs some creative magic against the big teams in the WC, Jack is exactly the sort of player you should want. He can make things happen by himself, and he can pick a brilliant pass on occasion–and you need only one or two such occasions to make a huge difference when you’re playing in a tournament. What a mistake. England isn’t going to grind teams down with airtight defense and clinical finishing after ponderous buildups. They’ll need some special moments from the likes of… Read more »
I can understand that Southgate felt Jack’s form tailed off towards the end of the season, and it did, but he would have been a great option to have. Can’t believe Livermoore and Cook on the reserve list ahead of him. It’s mental. Lacazette can feel hard done by too in my opinion. He had a great finish to the season when he came back from injury. France have a lot of good forwards but I think Lacazette is very good. At least he should be nice and fresh for the start of the season, if he doesn’t get called… Read more »
Couldn’t care less about the world cup or international football in general… when does league start again? COYG
England once again return to the age when gifted players like Le Tiss and *ahem* Hoddle were overlooked for the more functional English midfielders. If Wilshire hadn’t gone then Shelvey should have both are our most creative players and neither are even in the reserve list. Divey Ali isn’t anywhere near as good as he is made out to be and the rest of the midfield doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Let’s hope Southgate gets the sack right after the World Cup and Arsene takes over England! #wengerin