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07th Nov 2017

Arsenal fans are fuming with Gareth Southgate’s latest call-up to the England squad

Damning

Darragh Murphy

In case you were wondering how far down the England pecking order Jack Wilshere had fallen, the answer is very.

Last week, when Gareth Southgate announced his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Germany and Brazil, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was bemused to discover that Wilshere had missed out on a place.

“A super-fit Jack, I don’t know how you can keep him out of the English squad,” Wenger said last Wednesday.

Wilshere has been forced to play a bit-part role for the Gunners, starting only four games all season, but Wenger was of the opinion that he belonged in Southgate’s thoughts.

But the England boss responded to Wenger’s criticism by demanding to see some more minutes under his belt for his club before he would entertain the idea of recalling Wilshere.

“I don’t know how you get in an England squad without getting in the Arsenal team,” Southgate said.

“There is no question about his ability, his football brain or personality, we just need to see him playing before he comes back in because unfortunately there has been a history of injuries. I’ll be having discussions with Arsene about him, we think he is a top player so for him it’s about game time.”

And Southgate has doubled down on his opinion on Wilshere with his decision to offer Burnley midfielder Jack Cork his first England call-up on Tuesday evening.

Several squad withdrawals – including Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and  Jordan Henderson – forced Southgate into some rejigging but, rather than bring in Wilshere, who has 34 caps to his name, he opted for a new face.

And Arsenal fans, who have a certain reputation on social media, were none too pleased with the decision.

https://twitter.com/johnnymabe94/status/927979367053123585

https://twitter.com/afcEugene/status/927982013864382464

https://twitter.com/woodburygooner/status/927980974197170176

https://twitter.com/harryngibson/status/927980026120859648

https://twitter.com/TheWelbeckChop/status/927980996263333898