Parlour: Wilshere for England talk is premature

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
02 Aug	4:15 PM	EC	Rangers (H)	3	0	Win

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has labelled the calls for Jack Wilshere to be considered for the England national team as premature.

Wilshere is not yet even a regular in the Arsenal first team, but pundits and journalists are already urging England manager Fabio Capello to select the 17-year-old for the 2010 World Cup.

After scoring two goals against Rangers and being voted Man of the Match twice in Arsenal's Emirates Cup campaign, it is not a surprise that there has been a lot of hype surrounding this talent at the North London club.

But Parlour says Wilshere should only be concentrating on cementing a place in Arsène Wenger's first eleven: "I'm sure Arsène Wenger is saying 'let's concentrate on Arsenal this year and see how many games we can use him.

"We don't want to rush the kid, but Fabio Cappello was here at the weekend and he must have been so impressed by Jack.

"He played with so much maturity for a 17-year-old and he makes the game looks easy and that is an art. It's something that you are born with and he's going to be a massive talent.

"But I'm not sure about [playing for] England next year. It all depends on how he does, but let's not push him too hard.

"As he said in his interview [after the Emirates Cup] the most important thing is to break into this Arsenal team and play on a regular basis."

User Comments

titi14

Posted on 5 Aug, 2009 at 11:00 AM - Reply

don't quite agree with Parlour. If he's good enough to play for England, then he should regardless of whether he is a regular in the Arsenal or not. Look at Walcott, Rooney and Owen.

Mick Champness

Posted on 5 Aug, 2009 at 08:28 AM - Reply

Hear hear! Look how burnt out Michael Owen has been in the last few years and now only in his late 20's. Why? Because he was pushed into the England set-up in his teens and high expectations placed on his shoulders. Let Jacky boy enthral us all at the Arsenal for a few more years yet!

Idibia James

Posted on 5 Aug, 2009 at 08:06 AM - Reply

How old was Owen when made his world cup debute?

ac8689

Posted on 5 Aug, 2009 at 06:46 AM - Reply

getting jack for the 2010 world cup team can give jack an enormous experience. if he can handles such pressure, he can be a super super star.

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