Pearce Selects Walcott for England's Euro Campaign

Stuart Pearce last night named his final 23-man squad for the forthcoming UEFA European Under-21 Championship to be held in Sweden this summer. Amongst his inclusions in a strong squad is Arsenal’s Theo Walcott.

The young Arsenal forward’s selection is controversial given that he was also named in the senior squad for the World Cup Qualifiers in early June. He will now join the Pearce’s squad after those games to take part in the Under-21 tournament which runs from June 15-29.

Club manager Arsene Wenger has already been outspoken in his criticism of the subject believing that Walcott should be included in either one squad or the other. Wenger believes that naming the youngster in both will leave him vulnerable to burn-out, especially with the World Cup just around the corner next summer.

Arsenal are due to commence preseason training in the first weeks in July so Walcott will now be granted an extra weeks break or two along with Cesc Fabregas who is expected to take part in the FIFA Confederations Cup this summer.

Stuart Pearce has called on a total of four players with senior international experience, selecting Manchester City pair Joe Hart and Micah Richards as well as Gabriel Agbonlahor and the aforementioned Walcott.

Alongside experience Pearce has also included new faces in the shape of West Ham defender James Tomkins and Heart’s winger Andrew Driver. The latter inclusion also arouses controversy given that Driver represented Scotland schoolboys at junior level. Driver, however, was born in Oldham before moving over the border at age 11.

The head coach was forced to re-think his selection due to injuries to a number of key players. The Tottenham trio of Aaron Lennon, Jamie O’Hara, and Tom Huddlestone all miss out.

Huddlestone will arguably be missed most by Pearce’s side, having started all but one of the team’s ten qualifying matches. He would, however, have missed the first two games of the tournament through suspension having been sent-off in the play-off victory over Wales.

Also missing out through injury are Matt Derbyshire, currently on loan at Olympiacos, and Middlesbrough’s David Wheater.

Five of the players selected by Pearce (Joe Hart, Steven Taylor, Nedum Onuoha, James Milner and Mark Noble) were also part of the squad for the 2007 edition of the competition in which England lost on penalties in the semi-finals to eventual winners Holland.

23-man England squad for UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Goalkeepers:  Joe Hart (Manchester City), Joe Lewis (Peterborough United), Scott Loach (Watford)

Defenders:  Martin Cranie (Portsmouth), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Andrew Taylor (Middlesbrough), Steven Taylor (Newcastle), James Tomkins (West Ham)

Midfielders:  Lee Cattermole (Wigan), Andrew Driver (Hearts), Craig Gardner (Aston Villa), Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough), James Milner (Aston Villa), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton), Mark Noble (West Ham), Jack Rodwell (Everton)

Forwards:  Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Fraizer Campbell (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Danny Wellbeck (Manchester United)