Gareth Southgate is about to make his selection for the England squad, ahead of the World Cup qualifiers at the start of next month, and there are five Arsenal players hoping to get the nod.

According to the Daily Star, Southgate is likely to name an initial group of 26 players on Thursday. Ahead of that, the England boss has been attending matches over the weekend, including Arsenal’s trip to Stoke, and there are five players from the Gunners could be in line to represent the Three Lions.

The two players probably closest to an England call-up are Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck. Both have made plenty of appearances for the national side when fit and are both regularly featuring at club level as things stand.

Welbeck has 14 goals and 4 assists in 34 matches for England and always seems to step up his game a notch for the Three Lions, I feel. That’ll be something for Southgate to keep in mind. Oxlade-Chamberlain shouldn’t have a problem getting a call up. He’s proven his versatility and I recall him being a good performer in an England shirt too.

Theo Walcott has an outside chance at this point. He hasn’t played any of England’s matches in 2017, and only got 12 minutes against Stoke, during which he made just three passes. Rob Holding and Calum Chambers are both eligible, but with neither playing for the first-team right now, it’s very unlikely they’ll be involved.

Arsenal’s other Englishmen, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere aren’t likely to get the nod.