https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44163416 Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere said on Thursday he "could have made a real impact" after he was also left out. The 26-year-old said he should be on the plane to Russia as he has felt "fit, sharp and strong all season". Manager Southgate named England's third-youngest squad in the tournament's history on Wednesday with Hart and Wilshere the two highest-profile omissions. Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope were selected as England's three goalkeepers despite Hart playing every minute of the team's first nine World Cup qualifiers. Wilshere, who has had an injury-plagued career, has left out despite making 38 appearances for Arsenal in the 2017-18 season, including 12 Premier League starts. He won the last of his 34 England caps in the Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland. "It goes without saying, I'm incredibly disappointed," said Wilshere. "I believe I should be in the squad," he added. "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." Southgate defended his decision to omit Wilshere. "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." What do you guys think, Wilshere right to be aggrieved or is he deluded?
I thought Wilshere was disappointing more often than not. He was prepared to run at people but his passing at times was woeful. I wouldn't say he was deluded and I can understand his frustration and disappointment but I don't think he made a strong case for himself to Southgate. I think Southgate has shown he is prepared to gamble and, despite Wilshere's absence, I think he has named a good and exciting squad.
It's a tough one to call, i can't blame him for not taking Wilshere as he's always an injury worry and his performances this year haven't been outstanding, but he does provide something that England doesn't have much of. Ultimately it's his call and he probably has a vision of football that he sees England playing. It's his head on the chopping block so he should make the decisions that he feels are right instead of bowing to external pressure.
Not taking Wilshere was a mistake IMO. He's been decent for Arsenal and we clearly lack creativity in the squad.
I spent a lot of time talking to kids and parents about tryouts for youth teams and you just have to admit that any selection process is subjective. Any coach or manager is going to pick players he likes. Wilshere has not done enough to make selecting him a "no brainer" (sadly for England we don't have many of those), so he was always going to need the manager to like him. It is really it is like any job interview. Your ability and resume gets you into the selection process but the final pick is about how you get on with the people making the selection, how they think you will fit in, and how they think picking you will reflect on them. You can't take much away from, or argue about, a subjective decision. He wasn't entitled to a spot in any way, he shouldn't really have commented IMO.
