Arsene Wenger tells Gareth Southgate to hand Jack Wilshere England recall

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Arsene Wenger has urged Gareth Southgate to name Jack Wilshere in his England squad tomorrow. Wilshere has never been picked by Southgate but is in contention for the forthcoming Wembley friendlies against Germany next Friday and Brazil the following Tuesday.

Wilshere has made himself a regular for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, a run he is likely to continue against Red Star Belgrade at the Emirates tomorrow evening.

Even though Wilshere is not yet a regular in the Premier League team, Wenger has backed the 25-year-old for a return to the international fold this month, ahead of a push for England's squad for the 2018 World Cup. He is confident Wilshere is ready to for it.

"I think he’s ready, personally," Wenger said of Wilshere. "He was not three weeks ago, he is today."

Arsenal have plenty of good midfielders - at least as many as England do - and Wenger hopes that Wilshere can prove himself again at the international level.

"I have the same problem [as Southgate]. It is competitive for me as well in every single competition he’s ready to play. I would encourage [Southgate] to do it. I personally think a super-fit Jack, I don’t know how you can keep him out of the England squad."

While Wilshere had to be carefully managed at the start of a season, following an injury-curtailed loan spell at Bournemouth last year, Wenger said that was no longer the case, and that he was as fit as anyone in his squad. "I manage [Wilshere] at the moment like every single player," Wenger said. "He’s completely treated like any other player for three weeks."

Wilshere will be part of the Arsenal back-up side that has featured in their Europa League group stage campaign so far, and which is on the brink of qualification for the last-32 of the competition. Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud will also feature in a team that is a mix of youth and experience. "I have another trio we play tomorrow night, Walcott, Wilshere and Giroud," Wenger said.

"It’s very difficult to make a difference. I believe they all want competition, they all deserve competition because of their quality. If you look at the number of minutes played by all of these players since the start of the season many of them are in a very competitive shape which should be an advantage for us for the rest of the season."