Arsene Wenger discusses Jack Wilshere’s England return

Thursday, November 8, 2012
7:48 PM

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reached a compromise with England manager Roy Hodgson over Jack Wilshere’s England commitments.

The 20-year-old was called up into the Three Lions squad for next week’s game against Sweden after only playing three times in the last 18 months.

“You know what I think [about Wilshere], that it is early for him,” said Wenger.

“I had Roy Hodgson on the phone, we found a good understanding and a good compromise.

“What helps is that he is not playing over the weekend because he is suspended, of course. He will have a little breather. Roy wants him in the group to connect the game with the players.

“I don’t want to talk about that [the number of minutes Wilshere could play], Roy is in a better position to talk about that because he is the coach of the team and he can better explain how he will use the players. But it’s a friendly, of course.

“The ideal solution would be [that he wasn’t involved]. It is as it is. He has played three games now, and of the three games only one [has been a] full game.

“He has been out for 17 months and it’s good to have a little break after three games. What we like is that he won’t play over the weekend so he will recover. I think he needs 10 days of good recovery.

“Jack is generous on the football pitch - he gives 100 per cent. I feel physically, he is quite there - slowly he gets stronger in every game. That means his basic fitness is good.

“Sometimes, you need, when you accumulate games, to have a little rest again and to build on that and to recover and then go even harder. For us, what is important to know, is to stop him before he gets to that point.”