I have been really impressed with Jack Wilshere this season, for Arsenal and the England national team. When it looked like the super talented teenager that burst onto the scene a few years ago was letting it slip and might never realise his potential, Wilshere has knuckled down and proved his critics wrong.
That has been great to see but also really important to the Arsenal cause this season, with Aaron Ramsey really struggling to get anywhere near the form that made him far and away our best player of last season. So the injury news reported by Sky Sports that Jack has sprained his ankle badly and will be out of action for a bit is not what we needed.
Arsene Wenger has not specified how much time the 22-year old will miss but at least it is not broken and doesn’t look like it will need surgery. And there are other creative options in the team as well, so I think that the news that our French international defender Laurent Koscielny is back in the squad could prove to be more important than losing Wilshere.
After all, it is not scoring goals but conceding them that has been our major problem and Nacho Monreal has done his best but has not looked comfortable in the centre. That also seems to have affected Per Mertesacker and I’m sure the big German will be delighted to have his usual centre back partner back. But will it be enough to see Arsenal beat Dortmund or at least get the point we need to ensure a place in the next round?