Source: Daily_Mail
Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere called up for England Under 21s in Euro finals
Stuart Pearce will build England's bid for European Under 21 Championship glory around Jack Wilshere after he compared the Arsenal midfielder to a young Paul Gascoigne. [LNB]England's Under 21 head coach risked aclub-versus-country row with Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish on Tuesday when he selected Wilshere and Liverpool striker Andy Carroll in his provisional 40-man squad. [LNB] Call up: Jack Wilshere broke into the full England side during this season[LNB]Wenger was unhappy at the prospect ofWilshere's selection and warned that his prolonged involvement in the tournament will lead to the 18-year-old being unavailable for England's senior friendly against Holland at Wembley in August. [LNB]Pearce, however, is unperturbed. [LNB]He twice tried to reach Wenger yesterday to explain the reasons behind Wilshere's inclusion and discuss'the number of games he has played this season' but failed to reach theFrenchman. [LNB]But, when the pair do speak, Pearce will not climb down from his stance. He must hand in his final 23-man squad to UEFA on June 1 and believes Wilshere's presence will be crucialif England are to progress from a group that contains Spain.[LNB]'Over a four-year period, I have only ever heard Arsene Wenger's name mentioned in respect to this.[LNB]'Two years ago, I had the same conversation about Theo Walcott and 'Did he need to go an Under-21 tournament?'[LNB]'The proviso was then that there was a World Cup coming up in South Africa and he would be burnt out.Then Theo didn't make the squad for South Africa.'[LNB] Young Lions: The England Under 21 squad in full[LNB]He added: 'We talk about burnout and I have to bring my own experiences as a player to the fore.[LNB]'By the time I was 21, I had played 250 non-League games. I then played until I was 40.[LNB]'I played a full set of internationals. I probably played 1,000 matches in my career.[LNB]'What I can tell these young players or senior ones is: play football - it says it in your contract.[LNB]'That's your job title, that's what everybody knows you for.[LNB] 'The beauty with Wilshere is that he loves football,' said Pearce.[LNB]'He reminds me of Gascoigne. He loves to play football and that is the one thing that underpins great players. They don't do it for a means to an end. They do it because theylove playing football.[LNB] Power game: Andy Carroll scores for the senior side against Ghana earlier this year [LNB] [LNB] [LNB]'I had a conversation with Jack a month ago and said to him, "You've played a lot of games, what are your thoughts on the summer?". He wants to go. [LNB]'He likes playing for the Under 21s. It would be hard for me to turn around to him and say, "Have a rest, son". I won't give leeway to anyone I deem necessary in the 23-man squad.'[LNB]Wenger is the only club manager Pearce will contact before the tournament as he feels his relationship with Dalglish, for whom he played at Newcastle in the late 1990s, is strong enough not to need a call over Carroll.[LNB] 'I have to speak with (Arsene) on a personal level to outline some of the reasons,' he said. 'If I didn't feel I had any ground to stand on, it would be difficult for me.' [LNB]There are concerns that Wilshere has played too much this season.[LNB] Should he figure in Arsenal's last three League games and then help England reach the final in Denmark, he will have played in 61 games since August.[LNB] In the reds corner: Kenny Dalglis (left) and Arsene Wenger will not be happy with their players' inclusion [LNB]But Pearce reeled off an impressive list of statistics about Barcelona forward Bojan and Valencia's Juan Mata in his defence. [LNB]He said: 'If we talk about him being weary, I might just fly to Spain and ask Bojan and Mata how they feel, having played a similar amount of matches. [LNB]'Bojan has played 36 times this season. The three years before that were 36, 42 and 48. Mata has played 37, 51, 47 and 33 games in the last four years. So we have to put it into perspective.' [LNB] Wenger and Dalglish hold their breaths ahead of Under 21 call-upsWenger warns Capello Under 21 role will scupper Wilshere's senior careerWenger warns Wilshere will sit out England games if picked for Under 21sPlaying for the U21s would be a step back for Jack, claims Arsenal boss [LNB] Explore more:People: Andy Carroll, Paul Gascoigne, Juan Mata, Jack Wilshere, Kenny Dalglish, Arsene Wenger, Stuart Pearce, Theo Walcott Places: Barcelona, Liverpool, Newcastle, Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, South Africa
