by Lewis Ambrose

Former England striker and current BT Sport pundit Michael Owen has told FATV (the official FA YouTube channel) the best XI selected from England players he played with.

Thanks to his, erm, somewhat expressionless voice Owen now has a reputation as a drab pundit but he was once a superbly clinical striker. In fact, he was one of the finest English football has seen in a long time.

I’ve watched the video so you don’t have to hear Owen’s voice, but it is below if you feel inclined to listen anyway.

Former Arsenal players David Seaman, Tony Adams and Ashely Cole all made the XI put together by the striker who scored 40 goals for the Three Lions.

“A safe pair of hands,” Owen said of Seaman. The former striker was more complimentary about Mr. Arsenal himself, Tony Adams.

“Commanding, great captain. For all his strengths off the pitch as well as on. You always need one of those type of leaders on the pitch.”

“I don’t think there’s any question that for a certain point in time, certainly for the European Championships in Portugal, that Ashley Cole was the best left-back in the world,” Owen said about the last member of his back four.

The rest of the team was predominantly Manchester United players, but the three Arsenal stars are the only players Owen included that he didn’t play with at club level. Maybe that is a compliment in itself.

Michael Owen’s England XI:

David Seaman; Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Tony Adams, Ashley Cole; David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney; Alan Shearer, Michael Owen.