Left back Kieran Gibbs and creative midfielder Jack Wilshere were two players tipped by Fabio Capello to have a role to play in the upcoming 2012 European qualifiers and it appears that the Italian coach has decided that now is the time to test them, with a game against Hungary coming up next week.

Another player thought to be close to a spot in Capello’s squad was Everton’s Jack Rodwell, but it appears that he’ll have to wait a bit longer for his chance after Stuart Pearce still picked him for the Under 21s game against Uzbekistan next week.

Pearce has included four new faces in his 19-man selection, with Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, defenders Martin Kelly (Liverpool) and Phil Jones (Blackburn), and Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton all making the step up to U21 level for the first time.

The full squad for next week’s game can be found below.

Frankie Fielding (Blackburn Rovers)
Alex McCarthy (Reading)

Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea)
Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers)
Martin Kelly (Liverpool)
Michael Mancienne (Chelsea)
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa)
Tom Cleverley (Manchester United)
Jack Cork (Chelsea)
Jordan Henderson (Sunderland)
Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic)
Fabrice Muamba (Bolton Wanderers)
Jack Rodwell (Everton)
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)

Andy Carroll (Newcastle United)
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)
Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)

Winners

Emmanuel Frimpong – Probably the biggest winner of the lot from this weekend. Wenger trusted the 18 year old with the holding role for both days, and the youngster played an incredible 160 minutes of football across the two days. Understandably he tired on the second day with several wayward passes but never stopped running making key tackles all over the pitch. It was the second half against AC Milan that really highlighted what he is capable of though, with a fantastic display against former Gunner Mathieu Flamini. I think he needs another defensive minded player alongside him to really perform but it seems he has done enough to become part of Wenger’s plans for this season.

Jack Wilshere – Inevitably Wilshere was the most talked about player from the Emirates Cup for the second year running. The only player to play every minute of both games is an incredible feat in itself and the teenager did play well in a more withdrawn midfield role. Not certain that this is his best position as it takes away his explosive ability to go past players as often as he can further forward but he showed exactly what the hype is all about with an unbelievable volley that smashed against the crossbar against Celtic.

Laurent Koscielny – It’s been diificult to gauge what the former FC Lorient player is all about until this weekend, but Saturday’s display against AC Milan did highlight why Wenger was so keen on bringing him to the Emirates this summer. Very aggressive, Koscielny always looks to win the ball as quickly as he can, especially if the ball is played into the striker’s feet. Looked decent in the air too, whilst on the ball he was extremely comfortable.

Marouane Chamakh – It came as no surprise to me that the Moroccan international looks to be a quality signing by Wenger. He has fantastic movement across the defensive line and his link up play with the midfielders, especially Nasri, is excellent. Anyone who saw the Bordeaux fans emotional goodbye to Chamakh will have wondered just why they were so fond of a striker who isn’t exactly prolific, but when you see just how much work he gets through for his team it starts to make sense.

Losers

Johan Djourou – Maybe saying anyone truly lost out during a pre-season tournament is harsh, but it’s the easiest way of categorising how everyone did over the weekend. And unfortunately there remains question marks over Johan Djourou at the back. It’s not his talent or ability on the ball, but concentration is key and he fails to inspire confidence. Having said that obviously he’s been out a long, long time and the form will return eventually.

Mark Randall – I was very surprised that Randall was involved at all at the weekend and I think that his cameo appearance may be the last we see of them at a senior level for Arsenal. Full of promise at 16, almost gone backwards since then. The groan of disappointment when he missed two easy chances against Milan symbolised his Arsenal career in many ways. There was potential but it hasn’t been fulfilled and a permanent move is surely around the corner.

Tomas Rosicky – Firstly, it’s not that he played particularly badly, but I am not convinced he helps our play as much as he hinders it at times. I lost count of the number of times on Saturday where there were great forward runs ahead of him by Nasri and Chamakh and instead Rosicky backed out of playing a through ball, turned a few times and found a defender. I think he’s still a good squad option but the player I loved when he arrived at the club I am not convinced has a key role to play any more.

Of the two it was far easier to get a good idea of what Marouane Chamakh is all about – maybe because I have already seen more than enough of the athletic striker for Bordeaux to know what he will bring to the team. He is very much the sort of striker that creative midfielders need to play well, a “wall” to play off up front in many ways. His touch is very good and he more often than not finds an intelligent pass into the feet of one of the supporting players. The Moroccan’s aerial prowess could be an important weapon that we didn’t see a lot of today, but from his Bordeaux performances that I saw it is very clear that he will be a handful for any defender.

I think the big question is where he will fit in here, and today gave us no real clue as he played the part of a target man for the second half, a role that he can certainly fill – but when Robin van Persie returns will he stay central, be moved out wide or left on the bench as an impact substitute and 2nd choice main striker? Those are the questions that only time will give us the answers to.

Laurent Koscielny, meanwhile, enjoyed a far more comfortable afternoon than his defensive partner Vermaelen did a year ago in the same fixture. My first impression is that he seems like a defender who is in the same mould as his Belgian team mate, with an obvious desire to win the ball ahead of the striker and move out of defence with the ball. Too similar? Not if they learn to play together as a partnership, and that will be crucial if he has indeed been brought in as a first choice. On the ball he looked as calm and composed as you’d expect of a Wenger signing, and the coming pre-season fixtures will hopefully give us a better insight on the summer signing from Lorient.

As for the other players on show, it was Emmanuel Frimpong who really shone today as one of the younger players looking to catch the eye. The game highlighted his strength, determination and desire to press the ball quickly and was a big factor in our monopoly of possession. Unfortunately his passing ability does let him down at times, whilst against any side who are good on the ball he’d need another midfielder sitting with him, in the way that he and Coquelin formed such a great partnership at youth level. Hopefully he’ll get himself a good loan move on the back of this pre-season and take it from there.

Jack Wilshere was another to look lively, with typical intelligence throughout his half of football which resulted in two assists for Jay Simpson. Will this be the year he is ready for Arsenal? I’m not as convinced as many, certainly in a central position as he can take big risks that weren’t picked up on at Bolton as they would be at the Emirates. There’s no doubting he is destined for great things in the future though.

Elsewhere Ignasi Miquel as the youngest player to take part did well at centre back and Andrey Arshavin was outstanding as he continually tormented the Barnet right back. Conor Henderson was also very calm and composed as he got a chance in midfield for the second half, whilst the two players who disappointingly missed out on a World Cup place, Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri, looked pretty sharp as they look to prove a point this season.

Arsenal, welcome back.

Holland U21 0 – 0 England U21

In a very poor display of football England started their new season by salvaging a draw in a toothless game lacking excitement or cutting edge. England lined up with a negative 4-5-1 formation with James Vaughan isolated up front as the lone target man and it never looked like it would pay off as the more attacking Holland side dominated possession without ever really troubling Scott Loach in the 1st half.

The way Pearce sets up his side tries to mimick the way that the England first team do but fails to do so as all the creativity that the England team has with the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Barry the England U21 replaces with workman-like and solid players such as Rose, Rodwell and Cattermole who are good without the ball but often disappoint with it. Not only that, rather than play a proper second striker as Capello does with Rooney, the U21s chose to use Delph, a very talented player in his own right, but very much a central midfielder who never looked like someone who was operating in the hole.

The best threat England could come up with throughout the whole game was a storming Micah Richards run and one-two that left the Man City player with a clear view of goal on the edge of the area but his shot was one fitting of a right back and never looked like it would beat Tim Krul.

Their Dutch counterparts were also lacking clear cut chances despite their better possession and were limited to long range strikes at goal, the pick of which was Barazite’s curling effort that whistled past the post in a very poor half from the Arsenal youngster.

Nacer Barazite did start to have a growing influence in the 2nd half though as he started to drift from the target man role he had began the game with. First he set up Emnes for a clear chance that was squandered amid penalty shouts, before seeing a few good efforts test Fielding later in the half. The closest the Dutch came though was through substitute Vurnon Anita whose strike came back off the crossbar as time ran out for both sides to liven up this bore draw.

Jack Wilshere saw his first minutes in an U21 England shirt but saw his debut disrupted by constant substitutions and changes in the position he was expected to play, being forced into three different roles in the half an hour he was on the field of play. I have a feeling that he will be hoping to make the step up to the full England team sooner rather than later as I can’t see Pearce’s brand of football suiting him.

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England U20 5 – 0 Montenegro U20

An entirely different story in the Midlands last night as England finished up comfortable winners over Montenegro in their final warm up game ahead of the U20 World Cup in Egypt next month.

England had already gone close twice and failed to convert a penalty when Manchester United player Febian Brandy finished off a chance created by Vidal to give the England sie the lead. Brandy wasn’t finished there either as he bettered that goal with a stunning volley just before half time to give England a comfortable lead at the break.

It took three minutes to open their account for the 2nd half with another Man Utd prospect Tom Cleverley getting on the scoresheet this time as he found the bottom corner with a low strike. It took over half an hour to further increase the lead with England goalkeeper Rudd having to make a couple of stops himself to ensure the Montenegrins didn’t find a way back into the game.

But with 8 minutes left Tom Cleverley put the game even further beyond the reach of their opponents with a fine goal before Bolton Wanderers forward Tope Obadeyi added to the scoreline in the last minute of the game. Overall a decent workout for Eastick’s team ahead of the real challenge in Egypt.

As we reported last week, Wilshere was overlooked from the U21 squad in favour of an England U20 game at the Hawthorns against Montenegro but this last minute alteration means that the highly rated teenager will join Stuart Pearce’s squad today ahead of the game against their Dutch counterparts tomorrow in Groningen.

It has not yet been announced who will take Wilshere’s place in the U20 squad but I’m pleased that Wilshere’s talent has been recognised and hopefully will be given the chance to shine against the Netherlands tomorrow night as England look to build momentum ahead of the 2011 European Championship campaign.

Montenegro will be the visitors to the Hawthorns next week as England look to form a squad that can challenge the best that the likes of Brazil can offer in the upcoming World Cup. With the finals being held during the English season there will be difficulties securing many players for the tournament but this taster squad shows that there will still be a few starlets on show.

In particular the call up of Jack Wilshere following a scintillating pre-season is both promising and surprising, given that many had assumed Wilshere would be on the bench for the Gunners and so wouldn’t be available for the mid-season World Cup. Welbeck is another welcome addition to the team alongside club colleague Tom Cleverly and I have always liked the look of Villa’s Marc Albrighton who will be with the squad.

The full squad to face Montenegro on Tuesday 11th August:

• Declan Rudd (Norwich City)
• Jason Steele (Middlesbrough)

• Kyle Walker (Sheffield Utd, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
• Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough)
• Sam Hutchinson (Chelsea)
• Martin Kelly (Liverpool)
• Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa)
• Ben Mee (Manchester City)

• Jordan Henderson (Sunderland)
• Ross Jenkins (Watford)
• Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
• Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa)
• Tom Cleverly (Manchester Utd)
• Jack Cork (Chelsea)
• Adam Clayton (Manchester City)

• Sam Baldock (MK Dons)
• Danny Welbeck (Manchester Utd)
• Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading)
  

Stuart Pearce has named his latest Under 21 England squad ahead of a game against Holland on August 11th. Having lost against Germany in the final of the European U21 Championships earlier this summer the older, now inelligible players have been replaced by some exciting new talent ahead of the qualification campaign for the next championships.

There are five players who will be involved for the first time under Pearce, with West Ham duo Junior Stanislas and Freddy Sears joining Chelsea’s new signing Daniel Sturridge, Newcastle’s Andy Carroll and Fulham’s Chris Smalling.

Undoubtedly the most exciting on the five is Daniel Sturridge who having left Man City will hope now to get more games at Chelsea, with Di Santo going out on loan and only two experienced strikers ahead of him meaning he should get minutes in a quality team. Showed his talent in glimpses last season but after the signing of so many strikers at the City of Manchester Stadium a move was always on the cards.

Andy Carroll also made an impression on the Premiership last year as several cameo roles in a struggling Newcastle side showed him as a strong and powerful centre forward. Born and bred in the North East, he will hope to become an established striker for the Geordies this season as they target immediate promotion.

West Ham duo Stanislas and Sears also impressed in the Premiership in an impressive season for the Hammers under Zola, left winger Stanislas scoring on his first start before being rewarded with a new contract to show Zola’s faith in the 19 year old. Sears meanwhile has taken the step to go out on loan this season as he looks for the regular football he needs to improve after a very promising start at the top level. A typical poacher who scored goals for the fun in the West Ham youth set up, he will hope to impress enough at Crystal Palace this term to warrant a first team place when he returns to Upton Park.

Lastly there is Chris Smalling, still a relative unknown, only making his debut for Fulham as a substitute in the final game of the season. He has been previously called up to the England U20s however, so this is simply the next step as the 19 year old Londoner looks to impress Roy Hodgson and Fabio Capello enough to be included in their future plans.

The full squad to face Holland:

Goalkeepers: Frankie Fielding (Blackburn Rovers) & Scott Loach (Watford)

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Reading, on loan from Chelsea), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur) Michah Richards (Man City),  James Tompkins (West Ham Utd), Chris Smalling (Fulham)

Midfielders: Lee Cattermole (Wigan), Fabien Delph (Aston Villa), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Andy Carroll (Newcastle Utd), Freddy Sears (Crystal Palace on loan from West Ham Utd), Junior Stanislas (West Ham Utd), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), James Vaughan (Everton)

The surprise omission in my opinion as an admittedly biased Arsenal fan is the continued exclusion of Jack Wilshere from the Under 21 squad despite his incredible form during pre-season. And with Fabio Capello watching from the stands as Wilshere scored a brace against Rangers on Sunday I am more than a little surprised that there is no sign of him in this squad. He is still four years younger than some members of the squad and lacks premiership appearances which maybe cost him a place in this one but it’s surely only a matter of time before we see Wilshere in Stuart Pearce’s team.