Wilshere needs first team football, warns England manager

Gareth Southgate has warned Jack Wilshere he needs regular first-team football to warrant an England call-up.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been championing Wilshere’s return to the international scene in recent weeks but the 25-year-old was left out of Southgate’s 25-man squad on Thursday.

England are due to play friendlies against Germany and Brazil later this month and Southgate instead opted to hand Crystal Palace youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek a first senior call-up.

Wenger has promised Wilshere more game time in the Premier League after impressing in Europe for the Gunners, but Southgate has warned he will need regular football to end his international wilderness.

“I don't know how you get in an England squad without getting in the Arsenal team,” the London Evening Standard quote Wilshere as saying.

“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.”

Wilshere missed the start of the season through injury but has been back fit for more than a month, yet has only 13 minutes of Premier League action to his name thus far.

The Arsenal No.10’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the season, but he may have to evaluate his options in January if things fail to improve at the Emirates.

Wilshere has not featured for England since they were dumped out of Euro 2016 by Iceland and there will not be too many more opportunities in the build up to the 2018 World Cup to prove his worth on the international scene.