Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has questioned England Under 21 coach Stuart Pearce’s judgement of young Gunners star Jack Wilshere and insisted that his player did not lack focus.

“I was surprised when Pearce said that Jack has taken his eye off the ball and I am pleased with the player’s reaction to being dropped.” Wenger said.

“I have spoken to Jack this week and he is totally focused in training. He always was.

“He wants to do well and is a happy man on the pitch.

“I have not spoken to Pearce. He has to deal with the players when he has them at his disposal.

“And I deal with them when I have them.

“It looked to me that Wilshere was between the senior England team and the Under-21s.

“The Under-21s wanted him and then they decided not to play him against Portgual because of that story.

“As for the rest, I don’t want to be involved in all that. I don’t think it needs any more comment.”

Wilshere was involved in an incident days before the game when he was arrested along with a group of friends after getting involved in a fracas outside a nightclub, although the player was apparently acting as a peacemaker. Pearce insisted that the midfielder was spending too much time on the phone with his agent in the leadup to the game against Portugal and accused him of not being in the right frame of mind to take to the pitch.

Wenger is clearly furious with how his starlet has been treated and insisted that Wilshere was a level headed top footballer who knew how to handle his career right despite wanting to wait for a disco to open at two o’clock in the morning.

“You don’t make a career at the top level without knowing how to behave.” Wenger fumed.

“You do a job and you know when you can go out and when you have to stay at home.

“In an ideal world, Wilshere would have been home in bed at three o’clock in the morning but some discos in London do not open until two.

“Most people can stay at a club until eight o’clock in the morning. But if a football player stays out until two… what a scandal that is!”

Meanwhile, Wilshere coould be handed a start in Saturday’s Premier League home fixture against Bolton, which would pit him against a side he spent last season on loan with.

“Owen Coyle wanted to take him on loan again this year but after watching Jack in pre-season I decided he was ready to challenge for a place at Arsenal.” Wenger added.

“He was only 17 when he went there and he has come back with more experience and more power. He has grown physically and is stronger.

“But Bolton did not teach him to play football. He was already a very gifted player when he went there.”

Tags: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bolton Wanderers, English Premier League, Euro 2012, European Championship, Jack Wilshere, Stuart Pearce