Theo Walcott defies Arsène Wenger over England Under-21s call-up• Arsenal manager twice tried to talk winger out of Under-21s
• Pearce backs his player in club versus country row
David Hytner The Guardian, Wednesday 10 June 2009 Article history
Theo Walcott has told England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce that he would like to be part of both England squads. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters
Theo Walcott was so determined to play for England's Under-21s at the European Championship in Sweden that he resisted two attempts from Arsène Wenger, his manager at Arsenal, to persuade him to stand down and rest at home.
Wenger has made no secret of his *disgust at Walcott being asked to play first for the senior England team, in the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra, the latter of which takes place at Wembley tonight, and then Stuart Pearce's Under-21s. Fearing burn-out for Walcott, he has maintained that the 20-year-old ought to be selected for one squad, but when it became clear that he would be picked for both Wenger sought to apply some pressure of his own.
He phoned Walcott twice to discuss the situation and attempted to convince him that his longer term interests would be best served by playing only for Fabio Capello's team. He said that he wanted to withdraw him from Pearce's squad and he then called the Under-21s' coach. *Walcott, though, has consistently said that he wanted to play for England whenever selected and at whatever level and Pearce told Wenger that he would insist on the player's participation at the championship, which kicks off next Monday. England have group fixtures with Finland, Spain and Germany.
"My first conversation was with Theo," said Pearce. "I told him that I would like him at the Under-21s but that I wouldn't like to say to Fabio to leave him out of the seniors so we could have him. He thanked me for that. I said that in a perfect scenario, I would like to see him represent both and he was in agreement. Theo thinks the Under-21 tournament will be fantastic for him, as he's never actually played in a major tournament at any age group.
"I spoke with Arsène after that and I just told him my plans for Theo. Credit to him, he didn't agree. I did say to him that I'd spoken to Theo. I have got an utmost respect for Arsène and I understand his point of view but we beg to differ a little bit and the most important driver in the whole conversation was the fact that Theo wants to be part of both squads."
Walcott, who missed the previous Under-21 championship in the Netherlands two years ago through injury, feels he owes Pearce a debt for standing by him after his return from the 2006 World Cup, in which he did not feature. Walcott's performances for the Under-21s, when he was not a regular in the Arsenal team, helped to rebuild his confidence. The winger also insists that he feels fresh now, having missed four months of the season from mid-November with a shoulder injury.
"The one thing I would say from my experience as a player is that you never know when you are going to get injured," added Pearce. "I would say to any player, 'If you are selected for your national team, play as many matches as you can'. I did. I'm not speaking as someone who has been through the mill and picked and chosen my games. You bet your bottom dollar, when you are 35 or 40, you cannot do it any more. I can't play any more. I wish I could."
Pearce argued that Walcott will not have played much more football this summer by being involved with both national teams. Walcott appeared for only 45 minutes of the 4-0victory in Kazakhstan last Saturday and were he not now preparing for the Andorra game, Pearce said that he would have played him in the Under-21s' warm-up fixture against Azerbaijan in Milton Keynes on Monday night, which England won 7-0.
Wenger is expected to give Walcott extended leave and ask him to report back for pre-season training in the third week of July.