JERMAINE JENAS is expected to cap a remarkable year which has seen him transformed from First Division midfielder to Premiership superstar by being named in the England squad tonight for their friendly with Australia.

After a meteoric rise since moving to Newcastle United from Nottingham Forest a year ago last Tuesday, Jenas is in the reckoning for full international recognition ahead of Wednesday's meeting at Upton Park.

Jenas, who celebrates his 20th birthday on February 18, has made 21 Premiership starts for Newcastle, who paid Forest £5m for him.

He has impressed enormously on the domestic and European stage for Newcastle, while England Under-21 coach David Platt has earmarked him as an international star in the making.

Jenas could keep Gary Speed, fit again after a hernia operation, out of the Newcastle team to start tomorrow's Premiership encounter with Arsenal at St James' Park.

Speed reckons his young teammate could become as good as Gunners captain Patrick Vieira or Roy Keane - "perhaps the best two midfielders in the world," the Wales star mused - but warned Jenas not to be downbeat if he is overlooked by England.

"There aren't many English midfielders who are playing as well as Jermaine," Speed said.

"But if he's not in the squad, I don't want him to be disappointed. He's still only 19, after all, but if he gets in the squad he would fully deserve it.

"He's been brilliant since he came into the side - our best player in the last five or six games - and he was great when he played alongside me earlier in the season.

"He's got a great attitude. He wants to get better, and if he stays like that the sky's the limit for him.

"If Jermaine carries on working like he is at the moment, he's going to be up there with Vieira and Keane, who are the benchmark."

* Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal champions not to switch off until the final whistle at Newcastle tomorrow - or risk suffering another self-inflicted wound to their hopes of retaining the Premiership crown, writes BILL PIERCE.

After outplaying Liverpool ten days ago the Gunners surrendered two crucial points to Emile Heskey's 91st-minute equaliser at Anfield and it has helped both Manchester United and Newcastle close the gap in the title race.

Last Saturday, they kept going to the end when Robert Pires grabbed a stoppage-time winner against Fulham at Highbury. And, in fact, Arsenal have scored more goals (15) in the last 15 minutes of League matches this season than any other Premiership side.

But Wenger admitted he is still frustrated by Heskey's Anfield heist and insisted: ''We were too casual in defending a corner which should not have been given and we paid heavily for it.

''We have shown we can play exciting football and should have had that game won but you just cannot afford to switch off for even a second and I am afraid we did.

''When it is a corner right at the end anything can happen if you switch off. The fact is that so many goals are scored in the later stages of games and the record shows we do it a lot. So I cannot complain about that.''

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