Gareth Southgate has revealed he did not include Jack Wilshere in his England squad for the upcoming international fixtures over the next week because he believes the midfielder is playing out of position for Arsenal.

Midfielder’s such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jack Cork and Jake Livermore all made the cut for Southgate’s squad, and many believe that not calling up Wilshere is an outrageous decision when he is arguably England’s best midfielder on his day.

Wilshere has of course struggled with injuries in the past, but so far this season he looks to have put those behind him, and is performing well.

But Southgate says he chose to ignore Wilshere in the squad because he does not believe the player is a No.10.

“Jack played as a number 10 all of last season on loan at Bournemouth,” Southgate told reporters on Thursday.

“That is not the way we are playing. When we have played with a 10, we have had Dele and (Adam) Lallana. But we are not playing with a 10 tomorrow.

“I don’t think Jack is a 10. I think he is a deeper player, but he is not playing deeper. You’d have to ask Arsene (Wenger, the Arsenal manager) why that was.

“But I want to be clear: I really like Jack Wilshere as a player. I think he is a talent and I really respect him as an individual. And I’m hoping that we are in a position in March where we can pick him.”
[Quotes via Sky Sports]