World Cup 2018: Jack Wilshere breaks silence on England team snub by insisting ‘I should be in the squad!’

Jack Wilshere has spoken out over his 2018 World Cup snub by insisting he should be in the squad that is travelling to Russia next month, with the Arsenal midfielder admitting he is “extremely disappointed” by Gareth Southgate’s decision.

The 26-year-old was the biggest omission from the 23-man England squad plus five reserves named by Southgate on Wednesday, with the midfielder axed along with the likes of Joe Hart and Daniel Sturridge.

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Having kept quiet on the matter, Wilshere finally broke his silence on Twitter with a two-tweet statement to express his feelings over the disappointment, though he did stress that he will still be supporting the England team this summer.

“Think it’s about time I had my say,” Wilshere posted on his Twitter account. “It goes without saying that I’m naturally incredibly disappointed to have been left out of the England squad for the World Cup.

“I’ve felt fit, sharp and strong all season and believe I should be in the squad!

“And given the chance I could have made a real impact. However, I have to respect the manager’s decision and would like to wish the whole squad all the very best for the tournament.

“I will always be an England fan and will be supporting the boys with the rest of the nation.”

Wilshere has struggled for fitness in previous seasons but was a regular figure in the Arsenal side this campaign in both the Premier League and their run to the Europa League semi-finals. Wilshere also played every minute of Arsenal’s eight Premier League games between 13 December and 20 January, although his playing time late in the campaign was impacted by a series of minor knocks.

But despite making 20 league appearances this season, only 12 of those were starts and that appears to have cost him in Southgate’s reckoning – along with the fact that he missed the last two England friendlies with injury.

Wilshere won the last of his 34 England caps in the Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland and is yet to feature under Southgate, who instead selected Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier.

“Jack Wilshere has of course been in our thoughts,” Southgate said on Thursday. “We selected him in March, but he hasn’t played a game for us.

“We’ve been pleased with the players who played in November and March.

“The only midfielder we added is Fabian Delph, who had a fantastic season with the champions.

“Jack had a good spell but was maybe not as effective towards the end of the season. We’re very open minded in terms of what we want.”