According to Yahoo! Eurosport, Jack Wilshere has hit out at talks of Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj contemplating a decision to represent England, over Belgium, as his national side, as the Arsenal midfielder wants the Three Lions to continue playing with players that are born and bred British.
Januzaj has been grabbing headlines in the press after his impressive display in United’s 1-2 victory away at Sunderland, where the youngster scored both goals in a game where his side had to come back from a goal down. David Moyes and other United players were quick to praise the attitude of the youngster, who was born in Belgium. The winger began his youth career with Anderlecht in 2005, but received the opportunity of a lifetime when Sir Alex Ferguson came calling in 2011. As a 16-year old, Januzaj showed calmness under pressure, and settled in the United academy, where he gained a positive reputation. In Sir Alex’s final year as manager, he was handed a spot on the bench in the senior side, and is blossoming this season under Moyes.
According to the FA rules, for a player to be eligible to play for England, he would have to have stayed in the country for five years or more. Even though Januzaj has not completed this criterion, the England boss, Roy Hodgson is considering the situation of the player, who seems to have a bright future at United.
On the contrary to Arsenal’s flourishing form, Wilshere was caught in a rather rare controversy as he was pictured smoking a cigarette outside a night club after his side won against Italian giants Napoli in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Footballers are seen as idols in England, and Wenger is fully aware of the repercussions of being caught in a controversy like smoking. Arsenal are undoubtedly one of the elite clubs in the country, and any such controversy can seriously damage the reputation of both player and club.
Wilshere does not support the cause of people playing for national teams through residency.
The 21-year old said, “The only people who should play for England are English people.
“If you live in England for five years, it doesn’t make you English. You shouldn’t play.”
UPDATE…
Now cricketer Kevin Pietersen (born in South Africa to an English mother) has weighed in on the situation as reported by the Guardian. Pietersen tweeted, “@JackWilshere -interested to know how you define foreigner…? Would that include me, Strauss, Trott, Prior, Justin Rose, Froome, Mo Farah?”
Wishere replied through a number of tweets to try to calm and clarify the situation.
“To be clear, never said ‘born in England’ – I said English people should play for England,” tweeted Wilshere. “Great respect for people like KP [Kevin Pietersen], Mo Farah and Wilf Zaha – they make the country proud.
“My view on football – going to a new country when ur an adult, & because u can get a passport u play 4 that national team – I disagree. Just saying my opinion, everyone is entitled to theirs. Can’t wait for Friday night …”
Later in the day, Wilshere received support and agreement from his boss Arsene Wenger and England legend, Alan Shearer who both backed Wilshere and gave him their support in comments to the press. Thankfully for England, Wilshere is English and will be playing for them in their two key World Cup qualifiers.