Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere confessed fatigue is the reason why he opted not to feature for the England Under-21s in the European Championship next month.

The 19-year old revealed that GPS results showed that he needs a rest if he is to avoid an injury and with England set to face Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier on June 4, the youngster wants to be 100% fit if Fabio Capello decides to include him in the squad.

The midfielder added that Stuart Pearce understood his decision especially since in the last month he started to suffer from fatigue in the first part of the second half for the Gunners.

Earlier this month, manager Arsene Wenger declared the youngster would not be fit to start the season for Arsenal if overused during the summer but will now be available for pre-season including the tour to China and Malaysia in July.

Missing the Under-21s is not just about the Euros. It is about me looking after myself. Over the last few weeks, I have been feeling tired and my GPS results have shown that.

It shows I am heading for an injury and that is the last thing I want. Especially heading into the Euros. There are players like Steven Gerrard who have been injured while I have been playing and if I want to keep my place in the team I have to be 100 per cent.

It didn’t really sink in at first but the figures just kept going down, on a downward spiral. It scared me a bit and made me realise as much as I can keep going and going, there’s a time when you’re going to hit the wall. Maybe that was coming.

I am 19 and with the Euros coming up, it was in everyone’s best interests for me to rest. I think Stuart Pearce agreed with me. It was a bit awkward (with Pearce) but he was very understanding.

He made it easy really. Over the last four games, after about 60 minutes, I started to feel a bit more tired than I would have done in January.