Football No place for Wilshere in Arsenal’s strongest line-up Is Jack Wilshere a defensive midfielder? Is he a number eight? A goalscorer? A creator? People will say he creates chances. If that’s the case, why did Arsenal sign Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil? Wilshere still has the potential to be a fantastic player, but at the moment, I don’t think he would figure in Arsenal’s strongest XI – and who would have thought that 12 months ago? The problem with British football is that players are promoted too early. Arsene Wenger has said young players have a tendency to get ahead of themselves. Look, for example, at Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. A few years ago they were at a same level, but it is no coincidence that Ronaldo has pushed on and not his former team-mate. Wenger has spoken about Cesc Fabregas’s desperate need for improvement and getting better, while some of the young English talent are quite happy with the life of the footballer - the car, the house and the lifestyle. Even when they get into the England team, everyone is after their own little bit, aren’t they? It is prestigious to play for England and they are after the headlines themselves. There doesn’t seem to be enough of them playing for the team. The England set-up is partly culpable, though. They hand out caps far too easily. It takes nothing really; two good games at domestic level. You don’t become a great international footballer because you have played a few good games in the Premier League. The better U21s are always to be found in the full squad, which ties into this mentality of thinking that the players have made it before they truly have. Look at Spain or Germany: they stick their exceptional players in the U21s for their own progression. England are always looking to fast track these talented players – with the latest example Ross Barkley. He looks an exciting talent but is he ready for a World Cup? I would suggest not. He is just about ready for U21 football. In any walk of life you need to go through an apprenticeship. Wilshere and Barkley manage to hold their own in big games technically, but sometimes the British get carried away. Of course, Wilshere is still nowhere near fully developed as a footballer and we have no idea where his talent is going to take him, but this is a crossroads. For 18 months there was too much pressure on his shoulders – unfair and unjustified pressure. Wenger will probably admit that Arsenal overused Wilshere - not just physically, but also in terms of almost putting ideas in his head. He was an England international very early on in his career and he maybe thought that he was further down the line than he was. The reality was that he still had an awful lot to learn. Wilshere is currently being played out of position and Wenger is trying to fit him in. It could get even get worse for him when Theo Walcott, and Cazorla return from injury. All he can do is try to look after himself the best he can and get on that training ground. It is up to him to make sure he does not fade away.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:20:20 +0000
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