Andros Townsend is looking forward to hearing what Paul Merson has to say for himself after he responded to jibes from the former Arsenal midfielder in the best way possible.
After Harry Kane’s heroics against Lithuania, it was Town-send’s turn to play the role of England super sub against Italy on Tuesday night.
The Tottenham winger scored a stunning equaliser nine minutes after entering the pitch at the Juventus Stadium.
Within minutes of the 1-1 draw finishing, Townsend took to Twitter to poke fun at Merson, who said the 23-year-old should be “nowhere near the (England) squad” after an inconsistent year with Tottenham.
Townsend hit back by posting: “Not bad for a player that should be ‘nowhere near the squad’ ay @PaulMerse?”
Townsend cannot wait to hear how Merson responds.
“I am eagerly awaiting it,” the Tottenham winger said.
“He said it when the squad was announced – that I should be nowhere near the squad. As soon as the goal went in, I was just desperate to get that tweet out!
“It didn’t really annoy me. It had kind of just given me the extra incentive to silence a few critics and hopefully I have done that as I always have done.”
Townsend has had enough highs and lows in his career to know the sweet right-foot drive into the bottom corner of Gianluigi Buffon’s goal does not mean the critics will be silenced forever.
Less than a year after scoring on his international debut against Montenegro in October 2013, Townsend could not hold down a first-team place at Tottenham, let alone England.
Townsend started just two Premier League games before the turn of the year, but he is now a regular under Mauricio Pochettino.
A level-headed and grounded man, he knows competition is so tough at club and international level he must continue improving.
“I have still got things to prove to people,” he said.
“You can never stop proving things to people, but I think every time I have put on an England shirt I have done myself justice, I have done Roy Hodgson justice and the nation justice.”
Townsend took fond memories and a special memento back to England with him yesterday.
The midfielder made a beeline for Buffon at the final whistle as he wanted his shirt.
“He is a top goalkeeper – one of the best to ever play the game – so to score past him I thought was no mean feat,” Townsend said.
“As soon as the whistle went, I thought I’d go and get his shirt because it is a real night to savour for me.”