On Monday evening, Jack Wilshere managed another 88 minutes for the U-21s at Emirates Stadium. He seemed fit and sharp, despite a slightly concerning grimace and rueful glance at the ankle shortly before the end. It is likely that he has proved his fitness as much as is necessary now and, barring any sort of unsolicited reaction in his ankle, I would expect for him to be named amongst the substitutes at Wembley on Saturday. Jack’s recovery has been handled with the most nourishing of kid gloves.
Partly, one suspects, because of his heavily populated injury history to date. Secondly, because Arsenal are playing well and there is simply no need to rush players back into a performing team. Mathieu Debuchy was kept in cotton wool for the visit to Burnley last weekend, the form of Hector Bellerin making his return less urgent. Wilshere is not as important a player as he once was. This is not purely down to his regular absences, but also because the level of the Arsenal squad has risen in the last 18 months.
Players such as Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla have responded to rising standards by demonstrating improvement, whereas the likes of Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott look increasingly likely to be cast aside and rendered surplus. The next 14 months or so will tell us a lot about which of those categories Jack Wilshere falls into. Back in October 2012, Wilshere had missed fifteen months of football with a stress fracture in his ankle. On that occasion, he played a total of 227 minutes with the U-21s before being parachuted straight into the starting line-up at home to Queens Park Rangers later that month.
In October 2012, Arsenal were a weaker team than they are now and were suffering indifferent results. Prior to that stress fracture, Wilshere had been voted player of the season for 2010-11. His spark was desperately sought, whereas that is not the case on this occasion. Absence can do wonders for a player’s reputation, particularly if results are not up to scratch. But the opposite is also true, if a team performs in your absence, your reputation can diminish. Oddly enough, Lukas Podolski has become acquainted with both phenomena this season.
With Wilshere on the cusp of return, most of us are questioning what sort of role he can expect once available. Some are outright dismissing his chances, pointing out his flaws and how they interrupt the balance of the team. Attempts to shoehorn him into the midfield alongside Ramsey earlier this season yielded mixed results at best, whilst there is also the thorny issue of Arsenal’s form having improved drastically without him. It’s not difficult to see why doubts continue to hatch, even if you leave his chequered injury record aside.
But the writing is far from the wall for Wilshere’s hitherto unfulfilled potential. It’s been nearly seven years since his Arsenal debut and, despite his absences, he has become very familiar to us. As a result, I think there is a danger of us becoming blasé about his quality. I think most of his problems emanate from injuries constantly disrupting his rhythm. Momentum sits alongside confidence as football’s greatest intangible force (often, one begets the other). Wilshere just hasn’t had the chance to harness it. His biggest test for the next 12 months is simply to stay fit, then we will have a better idea of how good a ‘fit’ he is into the current Arsenal system.
This also makes it difficult for a player to iron out his flaws. Jack, like all players, has his foibles. Pretty much the same ones he had back in 2010-11 when an infatuated fan base voted him as their player of the year. It’s easier to overlook the blemishes of the new academy kid on the block. It’s true that there is far more competition for his preferred ‘regista’ role nowadays, but the natural passage of time will soon swat away much of it. Tomas Rosicky is 34, Mikel Arteta 33 and Santi Cazorla is 30. Rosicky and Arteta are approaching their pensions, whilst rumours of Cazorla seeing out his prime years in his homeland refuse to die.
Cazorla has carved his niche in a deeper midfield role this season because of his excellent close control and his ability to carry the ball. These are qualities that Jack very much possesses (though he lags behind Santi in the ambidexterity stakes), he has an ability to turn defence into attack with his sloping runs. One notable shift in Arsenal’s game this season has been the increase in dribbling. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain makes the starting line up more often than not due to his directness and ability to beat players. Alexis Sanchez is no shrinking violet at taking players on either.
Players such as Cazorla, Özil and even Coquelin have increased their number of take-ons. Arsenal are relying slightly less on possession nowadays and, in lieu of this, players that can carry the ball to relieve pressure are favoured. (Just another of the reasons that the Arsenal bench has a Walcott shaped arse groove). This tactic fits Wilshere’s attributes to a tee and tells you a little about why Arsene Wenger was so keen to shoehorn him into the starting line-up earlier this season. The problem was not so much that Jack did not work in symphony with the team, but that he could not strike up a convincing harmony with Aaron Ramsey.
I think it’s harsh to contend that this clash was entirely Wilshere’s fault. His performance against Manchester City back in September, alongside Ramsey it must be noted, was the best showing by either player prior to Jack’s injury in November. The Welshman struggled to adjust earlier in the season and had to be reminded publicly by the manager to appreciate his priorities. Nevertheless, this debate need not turn into a popularity contest between the two young players, the question remains as to whether they can realistically play together.
I addressed that question in depth earlier this season, but I think it’s too early to write off any prospect of them ever dovetailing. It’s true that they prefer the same position, but they are different types of player. Wilshere likes to move with the ball, Ramsey without it. Given time, the two could create an understanding based on their differing qualities. Of course, with Özil in the side, realistically it will be a choice between the two. That said, Ramsey has recently been moved over to the right hand side and I have pondered in the past whether Wilshere’s attributes could be suited to the same role.
I think Ramsey has amended his early season issues, but Jack might easily have done likewise had he not been injured. At this moment in time, Wilshere will start behind the likes of Ramsey and Cazorla, but one doesn’t have to trouble their memory banks too much for far more shocking comebacks in the Arsenal midfield. Two years ago, the idea that Wilshere would be considered as dispensable due to Aaron Ramsey would have been met with widespread mirth. (And likely, some poorly spelled twitter death threats).
If I had told you four months ago that Francis Coquelin would be a key component of Arsenal’s midfield, my psychiatric unit release forms would probably only just have been signed. In the autumn, there were plenty who believed Cazorla to be a spent force at Arsenal. I thought Welbeck’s arrival would relegate Giroud to the role of supersub. It’s easy to look at the current team and suggest that it’s no longer a fit for Wilshere, but good players in good form determine the mould of the team. Wenger did not plan for the likes of Coquelin, Bellerin, Ospina and Monreal to be key players for his defence at the beginning of the campaign.
Louis van Gaal certainly didn’t “plan” to marginalise di Maria and Falcao in favour of Fellaini and Young at the outset of this season. Performances have dictated their importance are and the team has adjusted accordingly. It’s clear that the next 12 months for Wilshere are crucial, not least because he last signed a contract in December 2012 and by summer 2016 we will be closer to “sign up or sell on” territory. Of the utmost importance is that he stays fit and available for a sustained period of time.
Only from that platform will he be able to show his undoubted ability, prove his reliability and, ultimately, realise his potential at Arsenal.
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