Jack Wilshere faces fight to fulfil golden promise for England and Arsenal
The script, it sometimes seems, has already been written. Jack Wilshere, the player famously described by Arsène Wenger as having a “Spanish technique with an English heart”, will be captain and talisman for both club and country for a generation.
Jack Wilshere struggled against Ukraine’s high-tempo game
Falling star? Jack Wilshere is substituted after 67 minutes against Ukraine Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Jeremy Wilson
By Jeremy Wilson
12:01AM BST 12 Sep 2013
Comments24 Comments
That remains the great hope of all Arsenal and England supporters but real life is proving more complicated.
Substituted after 67 minutes in Kiev on Tuesday night following his worst showing in an England shirt, Wilshere returned to the home comforts of Arsenal’s London Colney training base yesterday to meet Mesut Özil, the man who will supersede him, temporarily at least, as the club’s biggest star.
Wilshere’s development, of course, should only benefit from the arrival of Özil and every indication is that he is genuinely thrilled by the arrival of Arsenal’s record signing.
There is, however, now rather less certainty about Wilshere’s place in the Arsenal team than commonly presumed.
With Özil certain to start as the most advanced player in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield, Wilshere is left vying for the two deeper-lying positions.
The competition for those two places will be with Aaron Ramsey, Mathieu Flamini and, once he has recovered from injury, Mikel Arteta.
Tomas Rosicky, whose thigh strain is almost certain to rule him out of the match against Sunderland on *Saturday, and even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will also come into consideration.
All things being equal, Wilshere is still likely to start alongside Ramsey who has been, by some distance, Arsenal’s best player this season.
Arteta, though, has been just about the first name on Wenger’s team-sheet since he signed from Everton two years ago. Flamini also looked the part during his substitute appearance against Tottenham, even if he was fortunate not to be sent off. It all adds up to a legitimate debate over whether Arsenal’s midfield is more balanced with or without Wilshere in the team.
To be hypercritical – and Wilshere clearly has a myriad of great qualities – there is a theory that he sometimes dwells on the ball for just too long and, in consequence, can slow down the pace of the game.
It was certainly noticeable during the goalless draw against Ukraine on Tuesday that he struggled against the high-tempo pressing game of Taras Stepanenko and Edmar Halovskiy.
He spent much of the match on the floor after being jostled off the ball but it was at least encouraging to hear him embrace the learning experience.
“It was my biggest international game, my first big one away so it was a hostile atmosphere,” Wilshere said.
“It was good for me. I had a lot of experience around me and they helped me. You can’t just give that to anyone. It comes over time.” His lack of experience was not the only mitigating factor.
Both Hodgson and Wenger agree that Wilshere is still not fully match fit following his latest ankle injury and he has only completed the full 90 minutes four times since the end of February.
It has left him working to break out of a vicious circle. Wilshere needs match fitness but, after two operations, Wenger clearly still has concerns about his recovery.
“I don’t want to make a mistake and overuse him because the ankle is the most important part of any football player,” Wenger said.
“I would be more cautious with Jack until we feel he is completely free from any risk.”
Wenger will also be well aware that Arsenal have coped when he has not been available, notably during last season’s highly pressurised run-in.
If Wilshere wants to look anywhere for inspiration, it is across Arsenal’s central midfield to Ramsey. He suffered his leg-breaking tackle in 2010 – 18 months before Wilshere’s first stress fracture – and is only now *realising his full potential.
Wilshere’s situation is compounded by the fact that he actually endured much longer on the sidelines – a total of 17 months – than Ramsey did with his injury. He is also still only 21.
There is plenty of time to realise his potential and prove that comparisons with Paul Gascoigne, Xavi and Andres Iniesta were not hollow hyperbole.
He was, after all, good enough at the age of just 19 to be the man of the match in a 2-1 win against Barcelona in 2011. He was also England’s best player when they beat Brazil in February.
The bottom line is that Wilshere needs patience. Even so, the assumption that he will automatically realise his supposed destiny as an all-time Arsenal and England great should no longer be taken for granted.
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
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