Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere: Success with England in European Under-21 Championships can only be good for me

Jack Wilshere and Anthony Annan

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Arsenal youngster Jack Wilshere has his eyes set on England Under-21 success this summer and claims a victory for the side in the European Championships “can only be good” for him.

The team that will go to the tournament next month in Denmark will be decided on Monday and there has been much discussion on whether the 19-year-old should go or not, with Arsene Wenger outspoken with his fears.

The Frenchman claims participating in the competition could put his midfielder’s health at risk after a hectic season for the youngster, who has played 52 games for club and country.

However, the young talent does not see it the same way as his manager and believes he can reap rewards if the England team storm to success in Denmark and win the championship.

“If I do go and we win it, it can only be good for me,” Wilshere told the official Arsenal magazine.

“This nation is too good not to win international honours and hopefully we can take it on into the senior side, similar to Germany at the last World Cup.

“They had Mesut Ozil and players like that, who won the Under-21s then went into the World Cup.

“They didn’t win it, but they did better than people expected, and better than England did, so we should aim for that.

“There are great players in the Under-21 team – like Jack Rodwell, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge – they are all showing what they can do in the Premier League now.

“So it is a good squad and we have a massive chance of winning it.”

Wilshere has recently stepped into the England senior side and expressed his thanks for Fabio Capello’s support.

“To be called up after the World Cup was amazing,” he said.

“I had got a taste of it, but I never really thought that I would be playing for England regularly after that – I am still young, but Fabio Capello has been brilliant. He is always talking to me.

“He said he wanted me to play as a defensive midfielder, but after the Barcelona game he said to me: ‘I realise you are not just that now, you can bring more to it’.

“I think the game against Wales with the 4-3-3 formation was perfect for me.

“Scott Parker was holding in midfield. He and Frank Lampard were great, always talking to me and I really enjoyed it.”

However, if Wilshere were to take part in this summer’s tournament, he would have to miss out on being selected for Great Britain’s Olympic squad next year, after the FA confirmed no player could feature in both competitions.

However, Wilshere is looking to play: “It is a one-off. If we are there as a Great Britain team, then why not?

“There will be players who would be dying to play in that side, so I would never say no to being at the Olympics – it would be a dream.

“We could have a good team – Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Theo could all be there too, which would be a pretty strong side.”