Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says he has woken up to his special England place after never speaking to Sam Allardyce during his 67-day reign as the national team manager. The Arsenal winger missed out on Allardyces only squad in charge of England for their first World Cup qualifier against Slovakia in September, while a knee injury ruled him out of Euro 2016 earlier this summer. England interim manager Gareth Southgate named Oxlade-Chamberlain in his 23-man party for the upcoming fixtures against Malta at Wembley on Saturday and Tuesdays trip to Slovenia though, and the Gunners midfielder admitted Allardyces lack of communication has had a positive effect on him. It provided a kick up the backside, said the 23-year-old. I have been playing for England since I was 18 and while I wouldnt say I took it all for granted it just seemed to be a part of my season - to play for Arsenal and to play for England. Oxlade-Chamberlain has played for Arsenal and England since he was 18 And so to be available and to be feeling good and fit - to not be in, yeah, it was a jolt.It was a wake-up call. I am not young now, I am 23, so you need to be performing and playing as much as you can to deserve a chance to go and play for England.So I wouldnt say I had taken it for granted but being back in the set-up now makes me realise how special it is and it is something I want to keep happening in the foreseeable future. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for £6.99, no contract I didnt speak to Big Sam at all. I guess he had a lot to do what with it being his first game as England manager so I didnt expect to get a call from him. I had hoped to be involved.There are a lot of young players now that are doing really well and its not an easy squad to get into. You shouldnt just be able to walk into an England squad.Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has not played for England in a year, posted several Instagram pictures working out in the gym while on holiday when the last squad met. However, the Arsenal forward insisted he was not making a point to the former England manager as he didnt think Sam had Instagram. England captain Wayne Rooney feels he was slaughtered following comments from Sam Allardyce after his only game in charge of England The former Southampton player also revealed why he could not watch a number of Englands games at Euro 2016.I didnt watch the first few because I was just gutted I wasnt there and I tried to switch off from it but I always found myself tuning in for the end to watch the last moments of it, he said.Then the Iceland game, when we got through to the next round, I made sure I watched the boys.At that point I wouldnt say I was over not being there but I was a little bit more accustomed to it and I was doing my rehab.So I watched the Iceland game and I was just as disappointed as everyone was. You put out the players that played against Iceland, or any England team that plays against Iceland, and nine times out of 10 we should win. The ability is obviously there and then I guess the psychological part of it is massive, but whether thats a big factor Im not sure. Arsene Wenger answered why not? when asked whether he could manage England in the future Oxlade-Chamberlain praised Arsene Wengers abilities after the Gunners boss revealed he was open to one day managing England, but said he has been pleased with Southgates start.He said: Everyone knows about Arsene Wenger - what a great manager. But right now theres a lot going on and all Im focused on is Gareth and he has just come in. The first few days working with him has been brilliant. Theyve made the boys feel relaxed and confident with what theyre trying to do.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Rooney: Ill play where picked Stones: Rooney key for England FA to delay manager search What’s new under Southgate? Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. Discount Baseball Jerseys . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Latvia won a four-man World Cup bobsled race Sunday, while the U. http://www.stitchedmlbjerseys.com/.5 million contract with the right-handed reliever. Ziegler revealed the agreement via Twitter, saying hes "really excited to stay in Arizona for a couple more years, at least. Cheap Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys .9 million deal Thursday. The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys For Sale . -- Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was alert and recovering at a Denver hospital Saturday after suffering seizure-like symptoms when the teams bus pulled into the airport Friday afternoon for the flight to Kansas City.Why is Harry Kane taking corners? Its a question many England fans are asking - and struggling to answer - following the countrys 1-1 draw with Russia at Euro 2016. The Tottenham striker was top scorer in the Premier League last season but, rather than aiming to get on the end of corners in Marseille, Kane was delivering them - with mixed success - in Englands tournament opener.Kane took six corners against Russia on Saturday night, with two particularly poor efforts flying over the box, forcing Dele Alli to dash after the ball to keep it in play on the other side of the field. In the Premier League this season, Kane took just seven corners for Tottenham, where Christian Eriksen is the dedicated set-piece specialist. And all seven of those Kane corners were taken short. Kanes corners vs Russia 1 - Overhit. Alli retrieves on other side of pitch. 2 - Finds Smalling. Defender heads over from penalty spot. 3 - Cleared at near post. 4 - Cleared at near post. 5 - Overhit. Russia clear.6 - Short to Lallana. Kane receives the ball back but cross just evades Cahill. However, he was handed corner-kick duty by Roy Hodgson for Englands first Euro 2016 warm-up game against Turkey on May 22 and has continued to take them since.I dont need to apologise for Kane taking a corner, Hodgson said at the time. Especially if youve got a player with his quality striking a ball and no one else in the team who comes up to that level of striking a ball.Its a move Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp is critical of. The former Liverpool captain - an expert at striking a dead ball during his playing days - says the responsibility should fall to an England midfielder, so Kane can concentrate on scoring himself. We need Kane in the box. To have our best striker taking corners doesnt make any sense. Jamie Redknapp Were allowing one of our best players to take corners - and its not good news. I cant understand it, he told Sky Sports News HQs Euro Verdict.Weve got some very good technical players - Alli, Wayne Rooney - so why are we letting Harry Kane take them? He can deliver a good ball and he has that cross where it dips into the box, but Im sure most players can do that. We need Kane in the box. To have our best striker taking corners doesnt make any sense.Ray Wilkins, a former set-piece taker for England, was equally confused by the tactic.It baffles the life out of me, he said. If youre a midfield player playing at international level and you cant kick a ball 40 yards, unopposed, and stick it in an area of 10 yards at a height where you have an opportunity to score, you shouldnt really be playing. Kane only took seven corners for Tottenham all season - and all were short passes Indeed, in the past two Premier League seasons Kane has scored 10 times from set-piece situations (not including his one goal direct from a free-kick) and, in 2015/16, no player scored more goals from inside the box. All the indicators are hed be a more than useful presence in the opposition box for corner-kick routines.However, the bare facts of his corner-taking at Euro 2016 make for interesting reading: no player has completed more successful corners so far in the tournament and Kanes corner-kick stats are far more impressive than Dimitri Payets efforts for France against Romania. Corner-kick takers in first two days of Euro 2016 Player Country Corners taken Found team-mate Success rate Nicolae Stanciu Romania 3 3 100% Harry Kane England 6 4 66.6% Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland 3 2 66.dddddddddddd6% Taulant Xhaka Albania 2 1 50% Vladimir Weiss Slovakia 2 1 50% Oleg Shatov Russia 3 1 33% Dimitri Payet France 5 1 20% Adrian Popa Romania 1 0 0% Ricardo Rodriguez Switzerland 1 0 0% Ermir Lenjani Albania 1 0 0% Ergys Kace Albania 1 0 0% Aaron Ramsey Wales 2 0 0% Robert Mak Slovakia 1 0 0% Aleksandr Kokorin Russia 1 0 0% It should be pointed out, though, that one of Kanes completed corners was a short pass to Adam Lallana and another found Alli - who had to fetch the ball from the far side of the field after it had been over hit.None of Englands other starters against Russia are regular corner-kick takers for their clubs - although second-half sub James Milner took 116 in the Premier League for Liverpool - so Kane seems likely to retain the role for Englands second Group B game with Wales.Until an England player heads home one of his centres, the debate about his suitability for the task will rumble on… Also See: Hodgson defends Rooney sub Rooneys Russia stats ' ' '