Wilshere picks England XI for World Cup opener including Arsenal trio

Ex- England international and Arsenal star Jack Wilshere has named three Gunners players in his ideal Three Lions starting 11 for their World Cup opening game against Iran.

Expections are high for Gareth Southgate's side as they look to go one better than their showing at Euro 2020 where they were runners-up and win the tournament outright. Fans and pundits alike have had their say over how far they think England can progress, especially after the manager named his 26-man squad.

In truth, sterner tests than Iran await England over the course of the group stage let alone the rest of the competition, with the USA and Wales making up the other two teams in Group B. However, Southgate will be desperate to start as he means to go on.

There were some surprise names included, with both James Maddison and Conor Gallagher securing their place on the plane to Qatar while some high-profile figures such as Tammy Abraham and Ivan Toney missed out on a spot in the squad.

Wilshere revealed what his line-up would look like for the Iran clash to talkSPORT, as he remained loyal to his former side Arsenal with an eye-opening amount of Gunners players selected.

Pressed for comment on who would line-up between the sticks, Wilshere said: "Aaron Ramsdale. You're asking me for my team, I want a team that can play out from the back and a goalie is a key player in that. He's the best one with his feet, that's a fact.

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"Trent [Alexander-Arnold] at right-back, [Ben] White and [Eric] Dier at centre-back and Luke Shaw at left-back. Kyle Walker is injured for the first game, are you going to play him with one leg?"

Wilshere went on to explain his reasoning behind his midfield choices. He opted for another former colleague in West Ham's Declan Rice in the holding role, with Alexander-Arnold playing alongside him when England are in possession.

In front of them would be Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham and Manchester City favourite Phil Foden as a pair of number eights.

When it comes to his attacking line-up, Wilshere added: "Harry Kane would be at number nine. I think that it's important that when you play with Harry Kane, your wide men - Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka - have the pace to run behind."

In truth, of the three Arsenal players selected Saka is the only one likely to start. White wasn't expected to even make the squad until Reece James was forced out of action with injury, though he has enjoyed a stellar season so far at the Emirates.

Jordan Pickford is widely believed to be the first-choice goalkeeper under Southgate and has been for the last two major tournaments - that is unlikely to change in Qatar.

Jack Wilshere's England starting XI : Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben White, Eric Dier, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane.

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