Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott looks like the only loser in high-level game of ‘stick or twist’

Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain share a joke in between media and sponsorship duties in the futsal hall at St George’s Park. A few yards away, Jack Wilshere smiles as he’s reintroduced to a member of FATV on his return to the squad after 16 months away.

The scene is a reminder of the high-level game of ‘stick or twist’ Arsenal’s England contingent have been forced to play with a World Cup on the horizon.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck and Wilshere all faced uncertain futures at the start of the season. Despite the offer of a new contract and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger going as far in public to declare he would be “one of the big English players in the coming years”, Oxlade-Chamberlain opted to twist and join Liverpool last August.

It began a new chapter of his career which has begun to read well since Jurgen Klopp entrusted him in a central midfield position akin to the one Wenger often cited would be his home yet never really followed through on in his team selections.

This newspaper revealed in October 2016 that England manager Gareth Southgate, then in temporary charge, had begun trying Oxlade-Chamberlain in the centre during training sessions and so it is no surprise he merits a place in a squad laced with experimentation for the games against Holland and Italy.

Wilshere is more established centrally but the exact definition of his midfield role has been the subject of various interpretations by different managers.

However, at the start of the season his priority was merely securing game time having been told by Wenger he could find another club.

Wilshere’s graduation from Europa League team to Premier League team and then, ironically as the competition has assumed greater importance in Arsenal’s season, into the Europa League again is testament to his application and durability during a difficult period.

This week marks his first involvement in a squad since November 2016 when he was an unused substitute against Scotland and Spain and also four months since Southgate claimed Wilshere could not be included if he was not playing regularly for Arsenal.

His “robustness”, as Southgate described it when leaving him out earlier in the season, has been proven in recent weeks and Wilshere will see it as suitable reward for the difficult decision to stay and fight for his place once Wenger told him last summer he could find another club.

Wilshere’s dedication to the cause has only endeared him to Arsenal supporters and his reward is a timely return to the international fray which provides him with another reminder of how things can change; England signed off in November with Harry Winks’ performances in their final two qualifiers a month earlier propelling him to the forefront of what remains a central midfield talent pool short on excitement while Wilshere looked on from the wilderness.

Since then, Wilshere has thrived while Winks, blighted by injury, has started just three matches for Tottenham — against Newport County and Rochdale twice — since December 16.

Wilshere’s renaissance has not quite been mirrored by Welbeck’s form of late yet he was the somewhat surprise beneficiary of the additional space created in Southgate’s forward options by Harry Kane’s injury.

The 27-year-old has not scored a League goal since September 9. His two-goal haul against AC Milan last week looks good on paper but one was a penalty unjustly earned and the other a close-range header.

Wenger was quite firm in his reluctance to allow Welbeck to leave in January but nor did he force through a move, even on a temporary basis. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s ineligibility in Europe combined with Alexandre Lacazette’s injury have given him a Europa League lifeline which puts him in the frame for Southgate’s final 23 at this relatively late stage.

So, what of the fourth player to be posed the stick or twist conundrum?

Theo Walcott made what seemed a brave choice in January to give up the club he joined 12 years earlier to pursue a World Cup dream through regular game time at Everton and yet he now watches on from the sofa as the tournament draws every nearer.

The mere mention of his name will no doubt make Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck and Wilshere even more grateful for the opportunity they have now.