Stuart Pearce commented that he enjoys a very good relationship with Arsenal boss even though they disagree on the controversial Under-21 selection for England by Theo Walcott. The U-21 selection is for the European Championship this summer.

Theo Walcott made his first appearance this season after a back injury as a substitute against Blackburn. He was overlooked by Fabio Capello at the time of the announcement of senior squad. When Lee Cattermole dropped from the U-21 then Stuart Pearce called Arsenal boss to discuss the possibility of Theo Walcott featuring at the Ricoh Arena.

In fact Arsene Wenger was very upset with England’s this decision and suggested that Fabio Capello would “pay the price” for overusing the player. Stuart Pearce responded by saying that there was no lingering ill-feeling and he also said that the Frenchman had warmly responded to the idea of him calling up the 20-year-old.

Stuart Pearce said, “I felt it was important that I rang [Wenger] first to ask about the fitness of Theo… If he hadn’t have been involved on Sunday I wouldn’t have picked him. It would probably have been unfair. But he played against Olympiakos [under-20s] in midweek behind closed doors and he also played on Sunday and did very well. I said: ‘What are your views if Theo comes and joins the 21s?’ Arsène said it was a great idea because he needs the games.”