I must admit that I was a bit gutted for the Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere at the weekend. The Gunners ended up going on to win the game but Wilshere had to miss out again after picking up an ankle injury in training last week. Surely only Abou Diaby has had worse luck than Jack on that front.
With Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck unavailable I think that Wilshere was almost certain to start against Chelsea at Wembley and would have been hoping to carry his impressive form from the end of last season, for club and country. The one good thing is that Arsene Wenger has revealed that this latest setback is only a minor problem and will not keep the young player out for long. He may even be ready to face West Ham on Sunday as the manager was talking about a matter of days on the sidelines.
So just how good can he be for us given the chance to get a run of games under his belt? I personally think that he could be like Arsenal´s own Eden Hazard. That ability to burst past players as if they are not even there is something very few have but Jack is one of them.
His goal return may not look great on paper but I do not think we can ignore the fact that he has scored some of the best goals seen from Arsenal in recent years, including the Premier League goal of the season for the last two years. His long range wonder strike for England this summer also showed that he is not just about team goals and dancing into the box and slotting past a keeper.
Wilshere has a way to go of course but he is still only 23-years old and has missed an awful lot of football over the last few years. Given some time without injury problems, do you think Wilshere could do for Arsenal what Eden Hazard does for Chelsea?
He could be our Xavi, Pirlo and yes Hazard.
I think his style is more iniesta like
In Arsenal only Ox has the potential attributes of Hazard,Jack is more a Paul Schole type of player.On talent he is not a starter in the first eleven but he can be a great sub.
Can he be Jack for once. In yesterday’s game starting XI, I would not bench one player for him.
A Hazard comparison….WTF?
I love Just Arsenal and the various personalities that make each thread discussion so enjoyable but seriously this may be the most assinie comparison of any two players in the history of the EPL. Last I checked Hazard was the unanimous EPL player of the year and Jack was playing pool with Diaby in the the Colony rec center. The Belgian would immediately slot in as Arsenals first or second best
player(Sanchez) where Jack would be fighting hard for first team selection. Im a Gunner through and through but comparing a current squad player that cant stay fit to one of the greatest players in the world is again just ridiculously assinie. totoptenverratingourplayers
Haha I agree it’s overboard but don’t take it so literally… I rate Cazorla more highly personally, it’s just not as glamorous a role as Hazard has. Not bias at all 😉
I think the comparison the author is trying to make is the ability to break defences open in an instant. And jack has that direct, aggressive style of play, can beat players 1v1 at will, with an insane passing range and vision. His decisions obviously leave a lot to be desired at times and is in no way perfect. But a bit of time in the first-team and he could really surprise.
Looks like the injury bug has got a hold on jack again!
23?
He’s got to start delivering
I think Henry was 23 when he arrived….
First, I hope he gets a long spell injury-free
The only way for him to show his true potential is to play matches.
Hopefully, our new-ish health team can help Wilshere out.
we still need a DM and a striker period…
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Ok. So we have a pretty well established midfield in:
Santi – DLP
Coquelin – Destroyer
Ozil – Wherever he wants 😉
Then we have Theo or Giroud up top as our best two options leading the line. A lot of fans saying ‘ohh it’s just pre-season’ but then are happy to 100% say Theo at striker doesn’t work.
If we are looking to control the game and are seeing a heap of the ball looking to patiently attack he’ll do great. But if our midfield is struggling with it’s combinations and our attacks are being all too easily stifled and aren’t on top in midfield. The outlet Giroud provides is essential in starting our moves. The Chelsea game was a fine example of this.
Then there’s Ramsey, Wilshere and Ox who all have massively different strengths.
Ramsey is simply phenomenal when the numbers are with us in attack. He created two of our best chances against Chelsea that really impressed me. The nutmegged pass to Giroud and sliding it across the 18 yard to Santi. The vision and execution was simply first-class. His work-rate is often the difference in transition between the extra problematic number and opponents defenders having it covered. There have been too many examples of this in pre-season to possibly list. But in my opinion, when we are applying a more patient approach trying to break down a stubborn opponent, he is too often guilty of dwelling on the ball or clogging up spaces in the box which should be left to our forwards. It sometimes hinders our attacking play and he should be looking to play a much simpler game.
Oxlade’s direct and explosive. If he can transfer his pre-season form into the regular season we could have an absolute weapon. I think he’s more a facilitator than a scorer. I was really, really impressed with his crossing. I thought it as one of the weaker points in his game but a few of his balls have been really dangerous. I think a big decision for Wenger is going to be the added goal-threat of Theo who does more work off the ball, or the threat of Ox on the ball.
Wilshere’s just an all around good player with not much he can’t do. It’s all about which points of his game will benefit the team most. Personally, I think he’ll be used primarily as our impact sub this coming season as one of the three behind the striker. Long-term though, I think it will be Santi’s role he takes over. If he can curb the risks taken in his game and focus a bit more on playing a simplified role. His passing range, evasion and vision would shine.
All these players are strong and offer something different. The puzzling, but good thing we have to consider is that we have a superhuman wrecking ball coming back who will almost certainly be in our best XI. I still feel Giroud’s the best option leading the line which really only leaves one extra spot in our first-team. I honestly have no idea who it will go to.. My hunch says weaker team’s Ox, stronger teams Ramsey, or if Theo finds his scoring boots it could be neither.
Do us all a favour and comment more often on this side.
Jack can do things only of few players in the world can do. But his game makes him prone to injuries so he needs to play way smarter then before. Paul Schooles is on of the most overrated player i have ever seen. Mayb i have no f idea about football, but i do remember him as a good passer and as a very very dirty player. Thats it.
Jack Wilsheres games is not typical English, he plays diff and the brits should try to produce more players like him if they plan to be a football force in the world once again.
Wilshere has still the potential to become great (lets hope injuries don’t stop him) Iniesta and Xavi also where underrated in their early years, but saying “Jack can do things only of few players in the world can do” and “Paul Scholes is on of the most overrated player i have ever seen”?? That’s just ridiculous and people giving you up votes are more ridiculous. Wilshere has talent and hopefully Wenger will help him become the best player he can be – thats it! . Paul Scholes most overrated player? You must be a comedian.
Gibbs could be our own Messi
LMAO but I have to give you a thumbs down.. Sorry bro.
Lol, I understand. Just pointing out how random that comparison was (Wilshere vs. Hazard).
It’s called humor, learn about it. I have to give you a thumbs down.. Sorry bro.
Wilshere now more than ever needs to stay fit. Not only stay fit but he needs to play his way into the managers thinking, Cazorla is not getting any younger and if I was Wilshere I would be wanting his spot in the team. Ramsey will have something to say, no doubt. It is great though that an injury to Cazorla and we have players of Wilshere or Rambo’s class stepping in.
Crucially though there are another set of youngsters on the way for Jack and Rambo to contend with.
Zelalem, Crowley, Sheaf, Fortune, Adelaide, Maitland, Bennacer.. so the lad Jack needs to get his A game on.
OX and Gnarby are the only two i think can reach the Hazard level and surpass it, once they remain fit and injury free, wilshere is a different style of player, with a different set of skills, i think his true position is right behind the striker, but that area is fast becoming congested. Ozil who is still quite young stands in his way and from what we have seen is becoming more difficult to dislodge.
The only thing Wilshere can do is stay healthy and make use of his Game time
Wilshere has a completely different style of play to Hazard. Off topic: Was Gibbo playing as a striker when he came on? Almost scored a good goal 😀
He scored a good goal! Remember Walcott passing to him, then he took on Azpilicueta and scored a beauty(with his left foot) which won us the game.
Bob on about the chavs again!
Hazard is a winger who thrives on facing up to a player 1 on 1. Jack on the other hand thrives on finding tight spaces and manuevring out of them. Hazard wants to find space, Jack wants to remove opposition from the equation. Doesn’t really sound that different but it is a totally different playstyle and totally different positions suit the players. Jack is best in the middle of the park where his space is limited by players while Hazard is best suited wide where he can use the extra width and space to his advantage. Both players are excellent at dribbling and can easily bamboozle a defender but I think comparing them is completely pointless.
Jack has an astounding amount of potential but suffers from the fact his biggest talent leaves his legs open to hacking. This is where Hazard is lucky – most failed player in the PL but mostly not super aggressive tackles because the position he is in gets you booked if you get beaten and hack the guy hard. Jack however can get kicked up in the air every 2 seconds and no booking will happen because he’s not in a “dangerous” position. I don’t really know what the solution is because frankly you can’t take that kind of control out of a player’s game. I run with the ball in a similar fashion and get kicked, in a similar fashion, but you tend to control the ball that way as it makes you much more able to hide the fact you probably won’t outpace someone if you just “knock it and run”. I fear Jack might not reach his massive potential because of this, which is a real shame as he could be one of Arsenal’s and England’s best players for the next 10 years.
Right now Jack would be my first choice sub in games. Once Alexis gets back we will need some rotation anyway. The problem is our best team in the midfield writes itself:
Alexis Ozil Ox
Santi Coq
You’ve already benched Rambo and Jack right there. There will be times you could remove Coq for Rambo/Jack and there are bound to be injuries that mean other players can slot in. BUT Jack is gonna find it hard to crack into the first team at the moment whatever. 23 seems to be a magic number though and this could easily be Jack’s breakaway season. FINALLY going into the season without huge injuries and with squad depth we should see players protected more and as such, we might finally see some of this potential coming to fruition. Rambo looks consistently like he’s on the edge of becoming phenomenal. Ox looks like he could be making his step. Theo is back and could finally make his CF step. Jack to me looks like he could do it too.
I’ll put myself on the line here though and say Ox is the more exciting player right now. He is our starting RW, hands down, IMO. Not from this pre-season either – he was good last year until he got injured. He seems to have added finishing to his game. THAT would be deadly. I think this will be the year of the Ox and I’m standing by that statement. Jack may flourish, and bare in mind he is my fave player, but I think he will not come anywhere close this season to what Ox could achieve. Jack still has to crack the first team…Ox looks like he’s about to crack the PL.
/hype train