PREMIER LEAGUE - ENGLAND

    

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fears Theo Walcott is 'damaged' by criticism after playing out of position for England

An Italian newspaper described the player as an 'eternal Peter Pan' after he struggled in the No 10 position against Italy in Turin

Arsène Wenger fears Theo Walcott could be “damaged” by criticism after a poor performance in an unfamiliar No 10 role in England’s 1-1 draw with Italy on Tuesday.

While the Arsenal manager stressed the 26-year-old does not have a fragile mentality, he said the player was sensitive to the situation and is “not in his best mood”.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport described Walcott as an “eternal Peter Pan” for his apparent inability to fulfil his potential, and declared him the worst player on the pitch for the friendly in Turin.

Walcott is still coming back to fitness following a year out with a cruciate injury, and has made more appearances from the bench than starts for Arsenal since his return, which made Roy Hodgson’s decision to pick him surprising.

“He wants to do well,” Wenger said. “He’s sensitive and I’m a bit concerned about the damage that game can have on his mind. He is not fragile mentally, he is strong mentally, but he is disappointed because when you come back you always think you are ready.

“He needs patience. He is at the moment not in his best mood. He is not a fragile type. He has big confidence in himself and he has gone through some difficult periods in his life and he has always come out with strength.

“At the moment he is frustrated but that is normal,” Wenger added. “I don’t worry about Theo because he’s not completely there yet [at full fitness] and I told you a few times he has been out for a year with a very bad injury and he’s coming back. But being exposed like that, people have a harsh judgement on him, that is not deserved because he does well.”

Wenger stopped short of blaming Hodgson for selecting Walcott and felt the player’s deployment at No 10 was more down to Wayne Rooney’s movement than managerial instruction. The Arsenal manager admitted that he had never seen Walcott play No 10 before – not even in training.

“No, no,” Wenger said when asked if Walcott should have been left out of the squad. “I think he’s not far [from fitness]. Every time he comes on or when he’s started, he has scored.

“It was a complicated game for the strikers because Italy defended with three centre-backs, two players in front of the two centre-backs, and England played all in there so there was no room.

“Theo’s strength is the quality of his movements, he wants to get on the end of things. He’s not a guy who provides,” said Wenger.

“I don’t think it was the intention of Roy Hodgson to play him there. It’s maybe Rooney took the initiative during the game to play higher up and tell Theo to drop back. I haven’t seen Roy Hodgson in the game standing up to say ‘Walcott, you come and play in midfield and Rooney, you go up front’. That’s an initiative they took on the pitch.”

Wenger said he planned to speak to Walcott about the game against Italy. “I will see what state of mind he is in. We always have a word, if it is a positive experience or negative, you ask how did it go. We always speak about the last game.”

Liverpool will not be forced to sell Raheem Sterling this summer, says Brendan Rodgers

Manager describes Sterling’s BBC interview as a ‘mistake’
• Club ready to hold forward to his contract
• Sterling insists: I’m not a money-grabbing 20-year-old

Raheem Sterling has been told Liverpool will not be coerced into a transfer afterBrendan Rodgers said he could not envisage the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, selling the England international under any circumstances this summer.

The 20-year-old caused dismay at Anfield on Wednesday by telling the BBC he was flattered by reported interest from Arsenal, had rejected the offer of a £100,000-a-week contract from Liverpool and was being unfairly portrayed as a money-grabber. Sterling’s interview caught Liverpool completely unawares, although the message it contained came as little surprise with the club at loggerheads over a new contract with the player’s representative, Aidy Ward, since October.

Rodgers described Sterling’s PR gamble as “a mistake” but otherwise gave no indication of a rift between himself and the player during a press conference to preview Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal on Saturday. However, the Liverpool manager was resolute that an attempt by Sterling or Ward to force a move to Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea this summer would be destined to fail.

Sterling remains on a £35,000-a-week contract at Anfield until 2017 and, having benefited from FSG’s hardline stance on Luis Suárez in 2013, Rodgers believes Liverpool’s owners will ensure the forward “is not going anywhere this summer”. Asked whether there were any circumstances that could lead to Sterling being sold at the end of the season, such as a staggering bid being received or the contract impasse continuing, the manager replied: “I do not see it. No. Ultimately, I cannot speak for the owners but I have a good idea of what they would do. I know them well enough from my time here and for me it would not happen.”

Whether Liverpool’s resolve would weaken in receipt of a £50m offer remains to be seen. Rodgers had not spoken to the principal owner, John W Henry, or the chairman, Tom Werner, about Sterling’s interview but the hierarchy have been in close contact throughout the contract saga. As demonstrated with Arsenal’s £40m plus £1 bid for Suárez two years ago, FSG will not countenance selling a key Liverpool player to a domestic rival and they appear unmoved by the latest manoeuvring from Sterling, mainly given the length of his existing deal.

“I am quite relaxed about it,” added Rodgers. “He said his ambition is to win trophies and be successful and that’s perfectly aligned with what we want to do. This is Liverpool, one of the great clubs in world football, and it’s an honour for him to be playing here. He understands that, and that he has two and a half years left on his contract. He’s not going anywhere in the summer and we will be concentrating on making him the best player we can.

“Liverpool is one of the superpowers of football and the owners have made it clear that money doesn’t come into it. If the club doesn’t want to sell they won’t. If any player left, Raheem or whoever, it would be on the terms of the club. But that’s a long, long way off. It’s about continuing to nurture and develop a young player who has made giant strides.”

Sterling’s decision to clarify his position in public undermined Rodgers’ insistence – made a fortnight ago – that contract talks had been placed on hold until the summer at the player’s request to allow him to focus on football. “I don’t think it does [undermine that position],” countered the Liverpool manager. “I made it a clear message at the time when I had spoken to his representatives and Raheem. When I said that I was relaying a message from him and them. Of course for it to be repeated in a different way was unexpected but it doesn’t make me feel any different to what I did before.

“He’s a young, talented player who has got a lot of development to do but has also made a lot of development and that is down to one reason which is Liverpool. So we’re quite relaxed on that and we’ll concentrate on his football. Hopefully.”

It has been claimed that Rodgers’ decision to deploy Sterling at wing-back in recent games, a switch borne out of necessity as much as tactics, is also a factor in the forward’s refusal to commit his long-term future to Liverpool. The manager responded: “I pick the best team and what is key for him – and I’m sure he understands this – is he is getting the opportunity to play. If you look through this league and in Europe there aren’t many playing as regularly at 17, 18, 19 or 20. He only needs to look at Steven Gerrard in his time here. He played in a back three, as a wing-back, right-back, left-back, central midfield, as a No10, probably even a striker at some point. It doesn’t bother me. I pick the best team and he will probably sit back, reflect and think he is playing regularly which not many young kids are.”