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          Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain keen on England under-21 call

            Oct 17, 2014, 03:53 AM ET

            Arsenal could be heading for another club vs. country row after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said he wants to play for England at next summer's European Under-21 Championship.

            England under-21s manager Gareth Southgate has suggested that his side's chances would be stronger at the tournament if some of the national team's senior players were included -- Liverpool's Raheem Sterling is also reportedly keen to play and the Arsenal trio of Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers and Oxlade-Chamberlain are among those likely to be considered.

            Gunners manager Arsene Wenger, however, this week reiterated his view that players who have appeared for the senior England side should not drop down to under-21 level, claiming the move would be detrimental to their development.

            Oxlade-Chamberlain said it would be difficult to turn down an England call-up next year but conceded talks between club and country would have to take place first.

            "You'd never turn your nose up at something like that," Oxlade-Chamberlain told BT Sport. "But there's a lot that goes into that because the national team have two games around the same time as the tournament so it's up to [England manager] Roy Hodgson to decide what he wants."

            Players are eligible for the under-21s if they were born on or after Jan. 1, 1992, meaning someone could be over the age of 23 and still take part in the tournament when it kicks off in the Czech Republic next summer. Oxlade-Chamberlain will be nearing his 22nd birthday.

            "When that time comes around I'll have to think about it," Oxlade-Chamberlain said. "Gareth [Southgate] might not even want me. It's a discussion that will be had closer to the time with the England manager, someone at Arsenal and Gareth Southgate."

            Wenger has a history of feuds with England over the under-21 issue. He was riled by former manager Stuart Pearce's attempts to call up an 18-year-old Wilshere to his squad for the tournament in 2011, with the midfielder having already been involved in Fabio Capello's senior squad.

            A similar row could take place this season, with England set to play a friendly against Republic of Ireland on June 7 and a Euro 2016 qualifier in Slovenia on June 14. The European Under-21 Championship kicks off on June 17, raising the prospect of players appearing for both the senior squad and the under-21s in the same month.

            "You know my thinking on that," Wenger said. "Once a guy has moved up to the full national team, then you put him down [again to the under-21s], he is never good.

            "Apart from on the selfish front for us when a guy has played 50 games, it is better a guy has a good rest during the summer. But most of the time, when they move down, they are not completely at their quality."

            Former England striker Gary Lineker claimed on Thursday that a stance such as Wenger's is "selfish."