Along with the bad news that Arsenal fans were given this week about Santi Cazorla and the injury setback which means that our little magician in midfield will not be featuring for the Gunners again this season, it was also confirmed that the club has exercised the option to extend the Spaniard’s contract for another year.
This for me raises the question of another of Arsenal’s injury hit midfield stars Jack Wilshere and whether or not the England international will be back in north London and playing for us again next year, after he completes the season long loan deal with AFC Bournemouth.
On the surface of it this time away from his parent club has been good for Wilshere, as he has already played more games and more minutes than we have seen from him for some time. There was an injury concern for Jack recently but unlike just about every time he got a knock while playing for Arsenal, this one has not turned out bad and he is in line to face West Brom this weekend.
But has he really done enough to suggest that he deserves a regular place in the Arsenal team? With Cazorla and Ozil available I can see Wilshere struggling for game time as he has done in recent years, even when fully fit, so would he be just a squad player for us?
No goals and just two assists from 20 EPL games so far does not look too impressive, but if you speak to the fans and players of his loan club, and their manager Eddie Howe, you will hear a lot of praise for his all-round contribution. One of the main reasons behind thios loan deal was for Jack to play and you have to say that has been working out. There are also 13 more games left for him to find his best form.
Do you think he has to now show more until the end of the season for Arsenal to bring him back into the side for next year?
Bob.
We have really missed Cazorla the past two seasons
When he did play, he played like a World Class player in that position
But both Cazorla and Wilshere are injury prone
Ramsey has been a big disappointment this season
Xhaka is not at Cazorla’s level yet
Coquelin and Eleney have also been disapointing
I think we should sell Ramsey and get a Top DM
Kante has made a huge difference at Chelsea, Like at Leicester a year before
PL winners have Top DM ie Kante, Matic, Kompany, Toure, Essien, Scholes (box2box but great defensively), Viera etc
Actually Xhaka was the top defensive midfielder that the Arsenal fans really wanted to get. Now we have got him, but he does not perform like a top level defensive midfielder, as what we have seen so far.
We should give him another season to prove himself, but I think a real great player should be able to contribute more in his first season, like Kante, Sanchez, Cazorla, Bale. Why is he not what we expect?
1. Maybe the manager assigned him in a wrong strategy or position? This happened to Angel Di Maria in Manchester United. Look at him now in PSG. Or compare Paul Pogba’s performance in Juventus and MU.
2. Maybe Arsenal’s scouts are not good? In the past, we got fantastic players like Henry, Vieira, Cole, Lauren, Fabregas, with very bargain prices. Now we got a set of lower quality players.
3. Maybe Arsenal’s fans are wrong? Most of us wanted him badly, after seeing his statistics and performance on YouTube.
Regardless of what the reason is, I think Arsenal will not purchase another expensive DM next season, because we have got him. If Arsenal is a club with high standards, they should only give him another season to show us a better performance. If he does not do it in the next season, Arsenal should replace him. This should apply to other people as well.
First, does anyone think it is a surprise Wilshire has been healthy all season (more or less)? Is anyone surprised Cazorla has had a “set-back”? We need to fix our medical department and training methods.
I would take Wilshire back. He is better IMO than Ramsey and can do the same. Ozil will not be here next season and even if he is, he struggles in big games so we need an alternative. Santi, if fit is now deployed as DM, Wilshire can play higher up the pitch as he does at Bournemouth.
The best thing for jack is to stay away from Arsenal as far as possible. Maybe he might be able to rediscover his long lost almost forgotten form.
He can stay at Bournemouth, or go anywhere else for all I care. He was supposed to be our Dele Alli, but he’s nowhere near the quality of a player I admire from a team I hate. Sad, but true. So I hope he leaves in the summer, and takes a bunch of other dross, like Ramsey with him.