Walcott and Gibbs earn England call-ups

Theo Walcott has been called up to the England Under-21 squad for their international friendly against Wales at the Racecourse Ground on Thursday, May 15.

The young forward has been in fine form of late, scoring the goal of the game in Arsenal's 6-2 win at Derby after producing arguably the assist of the season in the Champions League defeat at Liverpool.

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Walcott is the youngest player in Stuart Pearce's squad but is also the most experienced in international terms. The 19-year-old has made 14 appearances at Under-21 level, scoring five times.

Other notable names in Pearce's squad are central defender Matt Connolly, who left Arsenal for Queen's Park Rangers in January, and former Gunner Fabrice Muamba, now of Birmingham City.

Kieran Gibbs has been named in the England Under-19 squad which heads to Belarus later this month for the Elite Qualifying Round for the European Under-19 Championships.

Gibbs marked his return from a three-month loan with Norwich City by scoring a last-gasp equaliser for Arsenal Reserves against Aston Villa on Tuesday night.