Gareth Southgate had a heated exchange with Theo Walcott on Thursday morning, after phoning the Arsenal forward to say he had dropped him from the England squad for the matches against Germany and Lithuania. Arsène Wenger believes Walcott has become more “complete” and “efficient” this season and the statistics support the Arsenal manager’s assessment. It was Walcott’s 28th birthday but it is a fair bet he would have reacted badly on any day of the week. He has scored more goals this season than any of the players Southgate has selected. “I don’t think he transferred his early-season form into the matches we had in October and November with England,” Southgate said.

Source: The Guardian March 16, 2017 22:18 UTC