Arsène Wenger is backing Jack Wilshere to make Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the European Championship. The midfielder is back in full training and the Arsenal manager is hopeful he can prove his fitness and be trusted for England even though he has not played all season.
“When you’re a national team coach, you can take a gamble on one player but certainly not on five. You can certainly take a chance on just one player,” Wenger said. He would welcome Wilshere being that wildcard.
“You want your players to compete. When you’re a footballer you want to compete at the top level and what is important is that Jack, who is frustrated enough, regains confidence. It’s very important for his confidence that he can go to the Euros and he can play. It’s also important to have a player of his quality available. I’m cautious with him now but to be back fully competitive, it will take a few weeks.”
Wilshere clearly needs games to regain match sharpness and Wenger views Arsenal’s under-21 game next Friday at the Emirates as a chance to step up the player’s recovery from a leg fractured in training on the eve of the season.
Wenger also confirmed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is “three or four weeks” away from fitness should be available in time for selection for the Euro 2016 and Santi Cazorla is also a hope to recover in time for Spain. “I hope so because he has started to run,” Wenger said. “We have to always be a bit cautious, because you never know how people will respond to training sessions, but at the moment he looks like he has a chance to be completely fit.”
Petr Cech is back in training and could be back in the squad for the home game against Watford on Saturday.
Wenger refuses to give up on the title, despite Leicester’s 11-point advantage. Arsenal have a game in hand. “If we win all the eight games, we have more than a chance to win the league but our target is to win the games. Let’s start to be pragmatic and win the next one. We are depending on Leicester City and nobody knows how they will go in the last seven games. They have seven games, we have eight. What is important is that we play our eight games with complete commitment and passion and see where we finish.
“The last few weeks have been very difficult but I believe you focus on giving your best and performing and I think our last two games – at Barcelona and at Everton – were very positive. That shows the team respond very well, even when we have a difficult period. That’s what it is about. Some teams sink and some others respond.”