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
"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.