Arsene Wenger and Roy Hodgson have reached a ‘good compromise’ over Jack Wilshere and his England commitments.
The 20-year-old has been called up to the England squad for the friendly against Sweden on Wednesday night despite Arsene Wenger not wanting him to be included.
The Arsenal midfielder has just come back to first-team action after having 17 months out and Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, made it clear to Hodgson that he didn’t want Jack to be involved in the friendly. Despite being warned, the England boss still chose Wilshere in his squad which was then followed with a phonecall to the Arsenal manager to try and make peace and make a compromise.
Arsene Wenger was clear that he didn’t want Wilshere to feature in the friendly because of his fitness levels, but he has revealed today that he had a phonecall with Roy Hodgson and that they have come to a ‘good compromise’.
“You know what I think [about Wilshere], that it is early for him,” said Wenger.
“I had Roy Hodgson on the phone, we found a good understanding and a good compromise. What helps is that he is not playing over the weekend because he is suspended, of course. He will have a little breather. Roy wants him in the group to connect the game with the players.
“I don’t want to talk about that [the number of minutes Wilshere could play], Roy is in a better position to talk about that because he is the coach of the team and he can better explain how he will use the players. But it’s a friendly, of course.
“The ideal solution would be [that he wasn’t involved]. It is as it is. He has played three games now, and of the three games only one [has been a] full game.
“He has been out for 17 months and it’s good to have a little break after three games. What we like is that he won’t play over the weekend so he will recover. I think he needs 10 days of good recovery.
“Jack is generous on the football pitch – he gives 100 per cent. I feel physically, he is quite there – slowly he gets stronger in every game. That means his basic fitness is good.
“Sometimes, you need, when you accumulate games, to have a little rest again and to build on that and to recover and then go even harder. For us, what is important to know, is to stop him before he gets to that point.”
Jack’s club team-mate, Carl Jenkinson, has also been called up to the England squad for the first time depending on FA clearing him in time. Carl had previously featured for Finland U21’s, but he has made it clear that he wants to play for England rather than Finland.
Alex William Batt
