Should Arsenal fans be optimistic about Jack?

Arsenal fans, do you remember Jack Wilshere? Don’t worry if you can’t remember where he is; Wilshere is busy getting back to full fitness while the best of his supporters are wondering when he will be back in action.

Wilshere, still only 23, has long been touted as the next ‘big thing’ for England. Naysayers always doubted if this is some judgment that was made in haste. To his credit, Wilshere has shown glimpses of his potential in Arsenal and England colors. To his naysayers’ credit, those glimpses were few and very far in between.

‘The between’ of his glimpses are littered with frustrating injuries. The latest ankle injury meant that he has not yet played this season. He had initially been ruled out for two months.

Arsene Wenger is a known admirer of the England international, although he is not short of options in midfield. Wilshere is back in training but Wenger doesn’t expect him to be ready for England’s European qualifiers against San Marino and Switzerland.

Wenger said: “I would believe that is a bit too optimistic to think he would be available for England. It’s too early.

“After the international break he has a chance but before the international break he has no chance.”

The games in question are slated for September 5 and 8. Losing Wilshere to injury is nothing new for England Roy Hodgson but he would be disappointed a little. Wilshere is a key member of his squad and Hodgson views him vital for Euro 2016 plans.

The increasing discussion of Wilshere is nothing new for Arsenal fans. The frustration among Gunners’ fans is valid because the only thing consistent with Wilshere is his tryst with injuries. Whether he has the potential to keep wowing everyone isn’t proven – at least not at the Emirates.

Early in the transfer window, there were rumours that Manchester City would be bidding for Wilshere as they look to increase their English quota. It didn’t pick pace to interest anyone. At the rate he’s spending time away from game action, one can’t stop from wondering if Wilshere would be missed if he did leave Arsenal?

Sridhar

49 Comments

  1. Wilshere won’t reach his potential until he puts his injury woes behind him. Sadly, he’s the kind of player that requires many many games in order to return to full form after injury (compare with say Walcott or Giroud who appear to hit top form almost immediately). To stay of the treatment room Wilshere needs to learn how to play safe. It’s not every tackle you stick your ankle into, LoL.

      1. @muda
        The only thing”unique” about Jacks style of play, is that for a short guy he doesn’t know how to utilise his low center of gravity, which would enable him to better avoid most tackles and subsequently long term injuries…
        The truth is, Jack has metal in his ankle and will never be the same, ever again…

    1. Will forever be average at best .
      He is definitely not going to be a pires, Dennis bergkamp,redondo,baggio etc

      MY QUESTION :
      What exactly are the expectations of Arsenal fans ?
      Because to me , it seems as if many fans have become used to mediocrity.
      What exactly has he ever done for arsenal that is spectacular. For the position he plays , it is safe to say that he lack football brains
      Wilshere is one of those who should not be wearing an arsenal shirt. Definitely not if we want to be at the very top .

      From bergkamp to Wilshere
      Pathetic
      How the mighty have fallen.

      1. He Is only 23. And his latest injury is completely unrelated to his other injuries . He scored two fabulous goals for England and has been tipped by gazza to be brilliant.

      2. I kind of agree. He, like walcott used to (and to some extent still does), benefits from this excessive hype, where his good games seem to be remembered a lot longer than his poor or average games. He’s only played in a few big games, and he’s never stood out as anything special, nor has he against more mediocre PL teams; the only matches that stand out to me for Arsenal are the WBA game at the end of last season and a game against Sunderland and in both cases, the opposition really didn’t look up for it. So my conclusion on him so far is that when the opposition is there for the taking, he can be our best player, but when the opposition puts up a fight, he struggles to be effective and can be a bit of a weakness in our midfield. For all his aggression and “passion”, he hasn’t really imposed himself on games where that was needed (though not through lack of trying).
        It’s a bit much to label him not good enough because he has shown the ability to be a quality player imo, but I think he needs a bit more regular playing time and a more defined role. I thought when he was coming through he looked like he could nail down a right midfield position, and looked a bit like Parlour with a bit more cleverness to his attacking play, but I don’t think he’s ever fully adjusted to playing CM in the 4-3-3 formation. I also think he should be discouraged from running with the ball quite so much.
        The line “from Bergkamp to Wilshere” is a bit stupid though. When fit, I’d expect his role in the squad would be more similar to that of Edu – he still comes out a loser currently, but he’s a lot closer to Edu in overall quality. You could compare the Bergkamp of then to the Ozil of now and draw your own conclusions, but not Wilshere.

  2. Jack is in between becoming next big thing and becoming next big diaby. I hope it will be the 1st one. Come on you jack.

  3. @Twig i like the fact you mentioned Giroud hitting top form.Its a pity that form will not be getting us anywhere.If we want to go by Arsenal value and name sake then he should not even be an arsenal player and also includes some players who i dont want to mention.On Wilshere,he is my favourite arsenal player because of the way he plays and because he is very exciting to watch.A player like him at 19 years could have benched anyone inhis position in this current team and dont forget 19.He has even had some fantastic matches and even so we know he was not at his best.To me on talent no one matches him but that is on talent i say.I want him to come back but injuries are not allowing him.I said that all this will make him have a sweeter story to tell and will make him a better captain one dsy.selling him will be a mistake because there is a high chance of him being less injury prone in another team as seen with sevral other players and yes he will reach his potential.

    1. Nice to meet another realist .
      maybe I saw the era of the great footballers of the late 80’s ,90’s and 00’s
      wilshere cannot even control a ball . His first touch is a tackle and he lacks in-game intelligence.
      How he is rated , I do not understand

        1. He’s scored 7 in 114 league games. If you want a player who can score a brilliant goal at that kind of rate, good luck to you. He’s not a goalscoring midfielder (although based on his early performances I agree it’s possible he could be). You judge him on how he effects matches, and he hasn’t been very effective in recent seasons, for whatever reason.
          @Kev – I can’t think of a single player from our current 1st team who’d have been justifiably benched by Jack at 19. He looked like a rough diamond, yes with the potential to be a great player, but so far he hasn’t come close to making it to that level. He looked like he would have been great in Hleb’s position, but he wouldn’t have ousted Hleb at that time.

  4. Totally agree with the comments above, Jack has bags of talent and an even higher potential…if it wasn’t for those injuries he would have a chance to shine.

    OT: United after Neymar! Best of luck with that one LvG, once you spend the money your players will have to travel by bus!

    Pogba to Chelsea…not bothered, he’d bench either Fabregas or Matic depending on the formation. It could spend the end for Cesc’s career at Chelsea…next stop West Ham!

    1. Err.. I think a midfield trio of
      —————-Cesc——————-
      ——–Pogba——Matic————-
      is a very disturbing possibility, considering it has all the element of SUPREME solidity and creativity.

      I am not so much as bothered as you simply because I don’t think that deal is likely to happen this summer.

  5. This Darmian guy soon will see two yellow or straight red. He is too error prone. Lucky to not conceded penalty in second game.

    1. I don’t agree. Sanchez and Cazorla are prime examples of AFC players that play their hearts out for the team. However they don’t suffer that much injuries from tackles. Why? Because they are smarter and clever in their style of play. Jack needs to learn from those two -Cazorla especially!

    2. Wilshere has a direct game style of play. He doesnt shield the ball like others but he takes players on. Very effective but you see how it turns out so often.

      Merti is a lucky person for having a manager like Wenger.

      1. I agree but it’s not all that effective really. He often runs into a wall and tries it too often in the wrong areas.
        My only hope for him is that he’s been experiencing what happened to Ramsey and if he can ever get through all these injuries he’ll be able to learn a position and become the player everyone seems to think he already is. He’s very good when running at a defence with options like Giroud to bounce the ball off but his general play isn’t so great and defensively he’s not particularly effective.

        1. Often, but it takes one time to go through, and there you go, you got a nice goal chance. Lets hope that he shakes off the inurie problems, bec Wilsher besides being a player he is also an Arsenal fan himself.

          1. “but it takes one time to go through, and there you go, you got a nice goal chance” – But that’s not good enough. Any player can make the odd chance in a multitude of ways, it’s about doing it consistently and efficiently. It’s what made Fabregas so good for us and it’s what makes Cazorla and Ozil so good now – you can see it with their stats. I do think that making chances is Wilshere’s game, but he needs to prove he can do it consistently and against anybody.

  6. Wake me up when the mighty Jack plays for Arsenal this year, should be a nice nap.

    Why do Arsenal have to scout the same players on a yearly basis to refuse to meet there evaluations? Bender, Carvalho, Lacazette, Krychowiak, etc?

    Put in a $20-25M bid for either the Pole or German in midfield and possibly $40-50M for a Cavani/Lacazette type striker to lead the line.

    With Cech, thats around $80M spent and Arsenal would be a serious threat in both England and Europe.

    But hey maybe we should just be patient that the SAME BLOODY TEAM as last year, while rivals have improved, will be good enough to raise the silverware.

    Classic Arsenal

  7. Jack is one of the most talented players in our ranks with tons of potential. He is a great box to box midfielder who has the ability to drive our midfield with his ball hogging abilities and great runs, though the end product of his runs let him down most of the time. And i wonder why Wenger has not worked on this flaw in his game all this while (well i guess he is too busy figuring out better ways to penny pinch our funds to notice). Only if we can find a way to keep Jack fit for a long spell and correct that little flaw in his game he will certainly be one of the best box to box midfielders in the game. Wenger what have you been doing? aren’t those sheets balanced enough yet?

    1. Hahaha.

      Wenger is not one give up so easily on a player. On the contrary he is a very patient teacher. He likes his student (developing players) to learn from their own experiences. He will not force his ideas on you. He is willing to wait as long as it takes, just so you develop naturally.

  8. No
    no

    no

    Wilshire is average, he consistently gives out the ball and holds on to ball too much.

    He tries the Norwich one two , too much

    no imagination

    Heavy drinker and smoker

    He talks too much

    It was a terrible decision not to sale to city.

    Well he still got potentials

    lots of potentials

    But one of the potential that’s becoming consistent according to statistics

    is

    He may surpass Diaby’s record.

    my humble submission

    THEFINALGURU

  9. Newcastle playing a solid defensive game away at Old Trafford. I’ve seen it all now… Hope they can hold on. 8 mins + stoppage time to go.

  10. Lot of talent.
    My opinion is that he lacks patience….na y be due to the injuries and short time avail able?
    But a raw talent indeed

  11. OT
    Manu 0 Newcastle 0
    Bla bla bla de pay bla bla bla Schweinsteiger bla bla bla Romero bla bla bla van gaal
    Bla bla bla bla bla
    But also bla bla bla bla bla.

    (Quoting Alex Lifeson of Rush in his speech when they were inducted to a hall of fame something….)

        1. Yes KS. As our rivals for many years and direct rivals to any trophy we should be happy…hence give a shit when they draw lose…lose points

          Be happy when they lose points! !

  12. If we signed Benzema for instance, I wonder what our first 11 and bench would look like?

    Cech
    Bellerin Mertesaker Kos Gibbs
    Coq Cazorla
    Ramsey Ozil Sanchez
    Benzema

    Subs: Ospina, Monreal, Paulista, Wilshere, Ox, Walcott, Giroud

    Tricky because that leaves the likes of Arteta, Debuchy, Chambers and Welbeck completely out the frame.. I suppose you’ll always get injuries..

  13. Wilshere is a huge talent. Better than anybody of his age and position. i guess it would be better for him to play in Spain or Germany. I think he wouldnt get injured as much, because of the different style of play there. In EPL many of the lower teams always try to break your legs. Ibrahimovic mentioned that too, a few days ago.
    I wish Jack becomes an Arsenal Legend, but as i said, maybe it would be easier for him elsewhere.

  14. A bit OT, but…

    It makes sense to me now more than ever what Arsene Wenger means when he says to find the top player(s) our team needs is not easy. I mean.. now it isn’t so much about the money as it was 3-10 years back. We do have some money to spend now. However, in the context of what is best for the team, it is really not easy to find top players that best fit.

    When your team is good enough (fundamentally) to compete -and yes this current arsenal team is good enough in that sense- for the EPL title this year, it becomes harder to find that player that will guarantee an improvement on the very best you currently have. Especially when you are operating on a financial level well below those of the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester clubs, PSG and Bayern.

    In fantasy world, it is easy to throw about the names of popular players as options for whom we should buy. Too often we tend to forget about how or whether this player will fit into our best formation/strategy.

    Every team has (or atleast, should have) a best formation -a tested and trusted method/approach/tactic/strategy that works best for them. Very often, only certain types of players can line-up in this formation so it can work. Like I said earlier, every team has one. Ours is a possession-based “4-2-3-1” formation with 4 central midfielders and a target-man striker playing in it. As akward as that may sound, it is the approach that has been working for us since the second half of last season till date. It is the approach that the gaffer has adopted.

    Hence any player we end up buying must fit well into this best formation and in the way that it is executed. So are you still looking for a clue as to who Arsene Wenger might eventually sign, if he signs? Well, there you have it.

    1. You are saying Coquelin is worth 40mil and Kondogbia and Schneiderlin are no match for him. Or Jackson Martinez compared to Giroud, no improvment? We also passed the chance to get the likes of Griezman at Arsenal bec our senile manager thinks that cms can play out wide. We need to get players in before they turn to good and to expensive for us.

      Arsenal plays better when all hope is gone. The team has no guts whatsoever. Thats what Kean meant with the selfie mentality in the team. Most of the players lack kamfgeist and the will to succedd. They are more like popstars then athlets.

      Arsene spends only so much so he can secure the 4th place. Why dont you people get this into your heads for once. Sanchez is at Arsenal bec he was cheap and Wenger could not rely on Walcotts fitnes. And Ozil at that time was a panic buy to chill of fans around the globe, bec in that time Wenger never was so close in getting booted out.

      Mertesacker, Arteta and co. all panic buys.

      1. I think you’ll find that Coquelin will not look remotely out-matched when he comes up against Schneiderlin. I wanted us to sign him or Kongdogbia but not to replace Coq, to play alongside and cover.
        Is it just coincidence that we’ve beaten City, Utd and Chelsea since Coquelin came into the side? I don’t think so! We looked miles away from that before he started playing regularly. The only other major change to the side from the year before was Cazorla being played in CM, and that’s made a big difference as well. Honestly I find the dismissiveness of people towards Coquelin ridiculous. Had he been signed for 40m, I don’t think anyone would be complaining.

      2. No. My point is that we are looking improve on what we have, true. However, how much do we know of what we have. We have to be sure of what our current best players are offering the team and exactly why they are our best players. After then can we make assessment on whether a certain player who is avialable in the transfer market can offer better in the context our own approach to the game.

        E.g Giroud’s hold-up play may be the key to the team keeping possession in the oppositions final third. If we are looking for an improvement on Giroud -player wise- then that player should also either be at least as good as Giroud in the hold-up play and better than him in the goal-scoring department. Or he may be better than Giroud in both areas. Then also he has to be avialable in the transfer market for an affordable price. Same scenario applies to Coquelin.

        You see? It can be a very complicated process.

  15. OT: Westham loses again. Guess they are looking forward for second half of season, next game against Arsenal. Grrrrrrrrrrrr 🙁

  16. By age 25 I expect him to be Arsenal Captain at least. At the moment he is on track to being another Walcott who has milked contracts over a carreer with nothing to really justify it. Walcott will be in his 30s when the current contract runs out and what will we have gained from him?

    1. Totally agree on Walcott – he’s had a few good runs of games which have contributed something to those seasons but overall he’s been mediocre. It still kills me that all that early game time Wenger gave to Walcott, when he was incredibly inconsistent and an objectively poor player, he could have invested in Vela, a comparable but clearly more rounded (clearly less injury-prone) and overall more effective player, who could have been a major player for all these years.

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