Analysis: How Arsenal stars did for England

On form Gunner Theo Walcott struck the first goal for England as they beat Estonia 2-0 at Wembley and continued their 100% record in Group E.

Despite qualification secured early, Roy Hodgson chose to play his team selection safe and deploy Spurs goal shy Harry Kane up front supported by Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana on the left and Theo on the right.

It was a dominant but pedestrian first half for England before Ross Barkley picked out Walcott with an excellent pass and Theo made no mistake to score calmly with the last touch of the first forty-five minutes.
With Kane completely anonymous, Theo continued his fine form and was the main attacking threat for the entire game drifting inside from the right, making clever runs and lifted the crowd with every touch of the ball as he drove England forward. He was desperately unlucky not to see a cracking volley go in early, but got his reward with a superbly taken goal on the stroke of half-time that made it 10 goals in 15 games for club and country.

It was a fantastic performance from the 26-year old who marks a decade in the England squad since his shock inclusion in the 2006 World Cup. His performance made a strong case for him to have a starring role in France in 2016, and it’s a promising sign for England’s hopes of a run in the tournament that he is getting games for Arsenal and replicating his awesome club form for his country.

It’s clear that playing alongside with the likes of Ozil and Sanchez seems to have improved his all round game as a forward when he was so often seen as just a sprinter. His runs and movement are superb, and his finishing has also improved drastically.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has become a regular starter throughout the campaign, came on for Adam Lallana in the 73rd minute but had little time to make an impact.

Kieran Gibbs remained on the bench in this game, but will likely get a chance against Lithuania to push for the left back slot left vacant by Luke Shaw’s terrible injury.

Expect to see at least one Arsenal star start against Lithuania on Tuesday and look to help England be only the sixth team to finish a European Championship qualifying campaign with a 100% win record.

Thoughts go out Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere who before cruel injuries were in superb form for England in the campaign.

England's Ryan Bertrand ready to be ruthless to nick Man United star's Euro 2016 spot

RYAN BERTRAND believes it is time to get ruthless - and nail down the left-back spot with England.

The Southampton star, 26, earned his fifth cap on Friday night at Wembley when he was selected ahead of Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs in the 2-0 win over Estonia.

And with Roy Hodgson's top two picks for that full-back role - Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw - currently crocked, Bertrand is determined to make the most of his rare opportunity.

The Three Lions defender said: "I'm not sure the position was anyone's anyway - even before Luke and Leighton were out.

"There's quite a few of us vying for that place - myself, Luke, Leighton, Kieran Gibbs, Danny Rose at Spurs and West Ham's Aaron Cresswell.

"And there's probably a couple of others out there I haven't mentioned.

"There's real competition - so now it's all about putting in consistent performances whenever you get the chance.

"Of course, it's never nice to see international team-mates and fellow left-backs getting injured but at the same time you have to be a bit ruthless."

After failing to become a regular at Stamford Bridge - he had loan spells with no fewer than seven different clubs in nine years - Bertrand's career is really blossoming on the south coast.

And he is adamant that much of his progress is down to the cool, calm, collected approach of Southampton's highly-rated Dutch coach Ronald Koeman.

Bertrand said: "I have really enjoyed myself playing under him - and relish the opportunity to work with him even more.

"He has provided a fantastic base for us at the club and has a very good football philosophy.

"He really encourages free play but he also wants a stern back bone - as our record last year proved.

"And if you are performing consistently well and at a good level with your club, then, hopefully, that is enough to keep getting yourself noticed and picked for England."

Bertrand has only recently returned to action after having summer surgery to resolve long-term knee problems.

Before Estonia, he had played just twice for the Saints - in the recent wins over Swansea and Chelsea.

Its fair to say, then, that after a frustrating opening couple of months, his season has suddenly gone into overdrive.

Bertrand, a Champions League winner with Chelsea in 2012, revealed: "I had planned the surgery from last January.

"It was the tendon area just below the knees - and it was killing me to be honest.

"It was something I wanted done as soon as possible so I could limit the amount of games that I'd miss.

"I didn't want to be out in December and January when there are a lot of important matches.

"Having only just come back my lungs were feeling it on Friday but you have to be ready when you get the call."

Whether Hodgson will risk using him again on Monday night - for the final group clash away in Lithuania - remains to be seen.

But whatever the line-up, Bertrand insists everyone is united in the bid to create Three Lions history - by making it a perfect ten wins out of ten in the race to reach France 2016.

The £10m St Mary's man added: "We have won nine in a row and now we want to get that 100 per cent record and make some history. Definitely."

Meanwhile, Theo Walcott was full of praise for Ross Barkley and believes: “There’s nothing to stop a wonderful player emerging.”

Everton’s midfield ace, 21, supplied the perfect pass for Walcott to put England ahead against Estonia, capping a five-star show.

Arsenal winger Walcott said: “Ross’ pass was perfection. If he had held on to it, I would have been offside.

“But he spots things like that and his performance was confirmation of form this season.

“Ross sees things and he is a strong, big lad and very hungry. Everything clicked for him on Friday but it wasn’t a one-off.

“He has done it a lot this year and if he stays fit you will see a wonderful player emerging.”

Ryan Bertrand eager to seize opportunity with England

Ryan Bertrand is determined to grasp his opportunity with England after receiving an immediate recall following an injury-disrupted summer.

Eyebrows were raised when the 26-year-old joined Southampton on an initial loan in July 2014, but the move worked out better than either party could have imagined.

Bertrand's key role in helping Saints to their best-ever Premier League finish led to his inclusion in the PFA team of the year -- and an England recall.

He has since started twice for his country including Friday's qualifier against Estonia, helping Roy Hodgson's men to a 2-0 win in the absence of the injured Luke Shaw and Leighton Baines.

Another chance to impress may arrive in Monday's final Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania -- an opportunity Bertrand would seize given the competition to make next summer's finals in France.

"There are a few of us in there: myself, Luke, Leighton, [Kieran] Gibbs, even [Danny] Rose and Aaron Cresswell at West Ham," he said. "There are a lot of us vying for that place.

"It's about putting in consistency and when we get the chance, we take it. I think, first and foremost, when you get here, you do want to perform well.

Ryan Bertran earned an England recall after his loan move to Southampton.

"But also the position is one that, at club level, is about establishing that consistency within the Premier League and then hopefully those performances are recognised."

Bertrand, like many of his team-mates, put in a solid if unspectacular display against Estonia -- perhaps no surprise given qualification had been secured with three games to spare.

However, the left-back's display was more impressive than most given it was just his third start of the campaign, having undergone surgery on problematic knee tendons during the close-season.

"It's good to be back playing, having been injured over the summer," he said. "This is my third game back [on Friday] so the lungs are feeling it. I need to ease myself in and be sensible.

"The operation was something I had planned from January onwards. It was killing me, to be honest.

"It was something I wanted to get done as soon as possible, so I could limit the amount of games that I would miss, rather miss than December or January times, which we all know is a very important period in the Premier League."

Arsenal's Fullback Surplus Proven By Kieran Gibbs England Call-Up

The international squads are being confirmed and it appears as though Kieran Gibbs will be joining the England side. With injuries rampant on the Three Lions, Gibbs was a solid option. Despite some opinion out there that Gibbs was in no way deserving, the fact remains that Gibbs is a superb left back. He has simply been outdone by a more superb left back.

On most other teams, Kieran Gibbs would be starting. He is not in bad form. He is not underachieving. He is doing perfectly fine. The only problem for Gibbs is that Arsenal have an absolute surplus of fullbacks.

Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal are two left backs that are beyond qualified to be starting on a title-winning team. Fullbacks can tend to be at a premium, but Arsenal have 4 very good ones. That puts them in a unique position of excess, something Arsenal rarely feel.

When Hector Bellerin finally gets his just deserts and gets called up to the Spanish National side, Arsenal will have 3 of their 4 fullbacks playing nationally. One would assume that Nacho Monreal would get a call-up too, seeing as how he has been playing out of his shoes for Arsenal.

That would give Arsenal 4 fullbacks represented at the national level. Most teams would be happy with 1.

Let’s start at right back. Hector Bellerin is outstanding. He has risen to every challenge to become one of the best young fullbacks in the world of football. He has become so good that the French starting right back Mathieu Debuchy was packing his bags in defeat, as he found himself unable to break into the first team.

But Mathieu Debuchy is the most seasoned fullback of them all. He has been the starting French National fullback for years. He was brought in last summer to be the starting Arsenal fullback but injuries opened the door for what has become an unstoppable machine – Hector Bellerin. But having the depth that Debuchy provides is such a wonderful resource.

Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal remain as Arsenal’s arsenal at left back. Nacho Monreal has been a star turned on this Arsenal side. He has center back instincts at left back. What a resource.

Kieran Gibbs, as mentioned before, could be starting and Arsenal would be perfectly fine. He was always meant to be the long-standing left back at Arsenal. However, injuries stepped in and made that task a bit heftier than we had initially though. Which led to Nacho Monreal being discovered. And now Gibbs and Debuchy share in the same plight.

No matter the plight, Arsenal have an outstanding crop of fullbacks. Squad rotations can be problematic for the Gunners but not at fullback.

How on earth did Arsenal man Kieran Gibbs get England call-up?

When the England team was announced for the upcoming fixtures with Estonia and Lithuania one position was always going to be a difficult choice for Roy Hodgson.

The nation's number one left-back option is Leighton Baines, but he has not yet played this season because of injury.

Luke Shaw was the next choice and had a great start to the season. His horror leg break against PSV Eindhoven however means the Manchester United man is also absent.

That gave Hodgson a dilemma.

In the end he decided to go with Ryan Bertrand, who had impressed toward the end of last season and then went with somebody who already has England experience in the form of Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs.

But how?

Aaron Cresswell of West Ham was surely worthy of a call-up ahead of Gibbs who has been usurped at Arsenal by Spaniard Nacho Monreal.

Even when brought into the Arsenal first-team Gibbs has been poor recently and it was certainly surprising to see him drafted in ahead of the impressive West Ham full-back.

Gibbs will now hope to prove himself for England after a poor run of form for Arsenal.