Jack Wilshere is better than anybody in the England Under 21s.
He is better than Lee Cattermole, Micah Richards, Jack Rodwell, Kieran Gibbs or Michael Mancienne.
But Stuart Pearce didn’t pick him in the original squad of 19 on Wednesday, August 5.
Jack was due to play for the England Under-20s against Montenegro at West Brom tonight.
But Fabio Capello, having seen Jack score two goals against Rangers in the Emirates Cup, said, “He surprised me. I saw him twice in the Carling Cup last year and he has improved a lot now. We have time before we have to decide if he will go to South Africa”.
Capello added, “We have time to look at him, It will depend a lot on whether he plays for Arsenal. He’s in the squad for the Under-20s and will go with them to Egypt and that will be very important.”
The Under-20 World Cup (Sept 24-Oct 14) is a 24-nation tournament in Egypt. England are in a tough group with Ghana, Uruguay and Uzbekistan.
When Fabrice Muamba of Bolton was injured, Pearce drafted Jack Wilshere into his Under-21 squad to play Holland in Groningen tonight.
What kind of player is Jack? Well, he is the real deal, a proper footballer who can hold the ball, invent the game from moment to moment, and score goals. Composed, creative and tough, Wilshere is the best player Arsenal have produced since Ashley Cole, or maybe since Paul Merson and David Rocastle.
All of them played for England. Ashley Cole is 28 and has 73 caps.
Jack is a better team player than Joe Cole at the same age. He is far better than Theo Walcott and should be in the Arsenal first team now.
How will he handle success and fame? We don’t know. Wayne Rooney made some mistakes but all young people make mistakes. I made them, you made them.
Jack Wilshere was 17 on January 1st. Stevenage-born, he has been with the Arsenal academy since he was nine. He was nicked from the Luton academy when he was nine.
Always remember one thing : great footballers are not made by academies. They’re made by their mums and dads