Jack Wilshere says he’s ready to make his return to first team action after completing 90 minutes for the U21s in a 4-1 win over Stoke at the Emirates last night.
The England midfielder has been out of action since November when a bad challenge damaged ankle ligaments, but he’s now made two appearances in the last week and is on his way back to full fitness.
Speaking to the official site after the game, he said, “You can train as much as you like but you can’t get that match fitness unless you play.
“In the Premier League you know how quick it is so you have to get back to that speed. I feel like I’m ready to play some part. When you’re injured you look at your comeback date and the games around that time.
“The one that stands out is the FA Cup semi-final but even before that we’ve got big games and we’ve got to got to Man United as well so there’s a chance to play this season.”
The bigger question is how exactly does he get back into the team – and you can find further thoughts on that in today’s Arseblog post:
Great, loving the competition.
Hope he steps up.
Can’t have enough good players. This season has slid off our hands (can’t see Chelsea dropping 11 points), but only a brave man can bet against us next season. Wilshere will play his part. The competition will bring out the best in everybody.
Chelsea are 7 points ahead with a match a in hand, but remember that they still have to play Liverpool, United, and The Arsenal. That gap isn’t as daunting as most think.
Time to push on jack, fulfill that potential
What’s the betting on an Ozil style step up, better fitness and endurance?
I’m gonna give Arsene credit if he sticks with coq/ramsey/cazorla in the middle for the important remaining games…if arteta/wilshere starts any games…think our title hopes next season are going to be same as previous years
Yes, because who plays this season will determine how we fare next season. Makes perfect sense.
If somebody had told you wenger will be starting coquelin regularly next season. you would have already branded wenger a lunatic. And said that’s the end of arsenal’s title chances. But look at what wenger has made out of him. An EPL class DM. Similarly when Wilshere hits form and fitness.. for his potential he will be a regular starter. Good to see him back. If he can stay away from those smokes and manages to stay fit he is sure to have a wonderful season. Wenger isn’t an idiot to give him the number 10.
That is nonsense. Even Wenger has admitted he wrote Coquelin off, that he was history.
There are significant lessons to be learned about mistakenly ‘deciding’ a players fate (which apply to Wenger and all the coaching staff alike). If Coquelin had signed a season-long loan contract as Jenkinson had, Arsenal would still be in dire straits.
Coquelin’s fate and current standing is down to his own self-belief and little to do with Wenger.
Don’t know where he’ll fit in our current XI on top form but a good player to have on the bench.
Hope he can find some form and make a positive impact until the end of the season.
That goal against Napoli comes to mind. Jack is a class player. If only he can stay fit for 30 consecutive games
But he needs to grow up. Plus he may be ‘ready’ but is he good enough for this current on form team? IMO he doesn’t have that fabled ‘football brain’ he doesn’t read the game well enough.
Do you really think he can be effective from the bench ? clearly does not have the pace to step it up against tired opponents nor does he have the defensive discipline to protect the back four. He is only useful if he starts and with the current first team , he does not merit that spot.
To be frank, the idea of Wilshere starting through the end of this season makes me somewhat queasy. Arsenal are playing exuberant and intuitive football at the moment and Wilshere has played little or no role in this or the clubs consistency. I find it telling that Arseblog had noted that reviewing Wilshere’s (limited) season, in essence it comes down to one outstanding performance against Man City (which was the home draw). As we have few games left in the season and they are all vital (regarding league position or the FA Cup) I would prefer to keep the team… Read more »
Just had my ticket for the semi confirmed. Becoming familiar with Wembley again is a nice feeling.
I went to the semi and the final last year. Hope the semi is less painful than those (eg pens in the semi last time, 2 down in the final), though the results made them worthwhile in the end.
Just wish I could remember more of either match. I’m in my early 20s and Dad’s not into football, so was my first taste of going for a competitive Arsenal match. Got a little over-excited at the Green Man and the rest is (very blurred) history.
Likewise, they were both great days though. The funny thing was, during the final, I didn’t once get a sense of panic from the fans. 2-0 down? We’ll just sing a bit louder!
It was amazing. Can’t wait to go again!
I feel like its Rambo v Jack when it comes to this team. Difficult to play both of them. When you do try and play them both, like Wenger did at the start of the season, they just get in each others way and its all a bit messy.
With Rambo and Jack’s fitness records, having two of them for one spot in the team is sadly perfect, going forward!
Interestingly the match report (on J birds site) Suggests Diaby was the best MF player in the stoke game (unless I’m reading it wrong) although he came off at 60 mins, so needs more game time to get fit.
Sorry, I meant on the AFC site and 70 mins.
On both sites!
Good to have him back.
Hopefully we won’t resort to that odd midfield pairing at the start of the season. I greatly enjoy what we’ve had in 2015
If wilshere was played in the same position for us as he plays for England would he be able to play alongside Ramsey effectively?
Welcome back Jack!
Jack’s absence is one of the reasons Arsenal have played well of late, especially in the midfield.
Same goes for England.
Don’t let the overrated Wilshere spoil the momentum otherwise the wenger out brigade will start shouting again without naming any suitable replacement
England have played 2 matches without Wilshere. One against a load of Lithuanian farmers and the Italy B team. England were dreadful in the first half against Italy’s B team but did pick it up when Conte made loads of subs. Wilshere was a huge part of the England team when England beat Scotland, Slovenia and Switzerland. Sides made up of professional footballers. Sides that have a decent chance of making the Euros. Wilshere did play loads at the start of the season. So did Cazorla. A man that got away with having an 18 month sabbatical. Ramsey was worse… Read more »
Seriously? Is Wilshere still “over-rated”? Every time I open a paper (figuratively, of course) all I can see is him being slagged off by the journos and people in the comments. How many years has everyone one been saying Wilshere is “over-rated”? Can we put this “over-rated” crap to rest now please.
Only Jack can!
I was surprised to see this about Jack from Bwin so dont know how accurate it is. “This season their win percentage has soared from 31% when he has started to 76% when shelved. The reverse effect applies with regards to losses, with 31% of the matches involving the Manchester City target from the off ending in defeat for Wenger’s troops. This figure has fallen to 15% when his services haven’t been required. In fact, since February 8 of last year, the north Londoners have triumphed on a paltry five occasions when Wilshere has been on the pitch for the… Read more »
As someone else has pointed out, there were a lot more reasons than just Jack for our poor start to the year. Things like, oh, having half our squad out injured at any one time in the first four months and having all the injuries concentrated in one area of the pitch probably had a lot to do with it. Pointing out a stat like that and then making a backwards inference from it is like saying “100% of the time that there was a tornado in Louisiana last year, the sun rose in the east that morning”, and from… Read more »
Yes, unfair to lay the blame exclusively at Wilshere’s feet.
That said, it’s blinkered to dismiss the stats outright….and in Jack’s case I believe they do indicate some serious issues regarding his being a focal point in the team.
not sure about your analogy – but i get that stats dont tell the whole story and there are other factors also at play . but as DFS says “i would be foolish to dismiss the stats”
I’m gonna be blunt and say I hope Wenger doesn’t start him/use him more than Rosicky etc at this crucial part of the season.
Not the time to be giving him time to get back to fitness. Our team is working wonders chemistry wise so let’s’ not mess with it trying to accomodate him in the 4-1-4-1 or whatever. Don’t mind him as a sub but likes of Rosicky/Welbeck deserve it more.
So next season, I guess. For the team!
the team has been playing together and evolving around each other so well in 2015. every game now is crucial and Wenger should not change things.
hes behind rambo and cazorla for that central position.
rosickys performances have always been good as well and if anyone deserves a chance its got to be rosicky over wilshere, otherwise it would be such a slap in the face for rosicky.
elsewhere coquelin, ozil and alexis are undroppable on current form.
Apologies… I dropped in to the thread above and made precisely the same point before reading both your well made points. I agree 100%. Every game is vital and we should prioritize the players who have rotated through the team during the last few months.
Our entire midfield is undroppable at the moment. Why would you tinker about with a winning team? Except to rotate a few tired legs. So Jack Wilshere will have to wait his turn. It will help him out a bit if he can just inhale fresh air instead of the odd lethal toxin while he’s on the bench.
Good! Now let’s move Ozil to left wing and play Jack in the middle!
With Coq removed in place of Arteta, obviously…
Diaby for Rambo too, what could possibly go wrong?
It really pisses me off that Arsenal fans slag off Wilshere but adore nothing players like Rosicky, Ospina and Gibbs. It’ll be brilliant when those 3 leave.
what an odd trio of players to pick out.
the fact that you have put rosicky on that list must mean you have only been an arsenal fan for a few years…
I picked out 3 players that shouldn’t be at the club yet get loads of minutes. Rosicky brings nothing to the table. He’s an attacking midfielder that can’t even play simple through balls.
I’ve supported the club for plenty of years. So I’ve seen plenty of nothing performances from Rosicky.
God your an imbecile. Rosicky gets playing time?
The only time that occurs if the whole midfield and the groundskeeper is injured.
No worries, based on the past if anything to go by, Young Jack will probably walk right into the 1st team.
Get out.
The fact that not even a single person seems to agree with you at this point says a lot. The internet rarely finds a consensus.
Do you really love football ? Do you know anything about the game ? Are you Michael Owen hiding under a pseudonym ? Wenger said: I f you love football, you will love Rosicky.
Hey folks, don’t bother responding to this idiot. He’s a troll, just aiming to get a response. Check out his earlier posts and you’ll see.
I’m having problems keeping all these central midfielders happy on fifa15 and I bought pogba.
I understand why people have bad memories of the way Wilshere was shoehorned into the side at the beginning of the season when our midfield wasn’t working well at all, but is all this negativity really necessary? Wilshere is a talented and versatile midfielder. It’s not clear what his role in our side is going to be in the future, but it is clear to me that he can be very valuable, whether that’s in the kind of role Arteta has played over the last couple of years, as competition/cover for Ramsey or in the kind of role Cazorla is… Read more »
Shoehorned?
Trust me, I would love Wilshere to develop into a deeper lying Arteta type (and have said so before). I would take Jack Pirlo any day of the week.
Sadly, I do not think he has the desire/intelligence/nous to do so.
Verb 1. shoehorn – fit for a specific purpose even when not well suited
No questions on his supposed move to Man shitty.
So DM fabricated a story!
I’m shocked!!!!!
With the wealth of in form talent in the midfield and the tentative feelers coming from the skyblues in their quest to fill the quota….won’t be surprised if Jack’s allegiance doesn’t hold.
I don’t buy the City link at all. Pellegrini said he would like to sign a big English paper, and some journalist decided that that could be Wilshere. That’s all there is to it. Also, there isn’t actually a quota as such. There’s a limit of not being able to use more than 17 non-home grown players, but no requirement to fill the other 8 spots in the squad with home grown players. So there is still no point in buying players you don’t want that much. Although looking at the number of players going in and out of City… Read more »
And I’ve just realised that of course Fabregas counts as home grown as well. That’s just adding insult to injury.
Minus the playing time part and injuries hopefully, I see a lot of Rosicky in him and how he could develop into a similar mold as a creative winger and occasional attacking mid if needed.
our passing play is so much quicker and fluid when he’s not on the pitch. he holds on to the ball too long and turns it over too often.
can’t see him breaking into the team at this point and really hope wenger doesn’t start next year trying to shoehorn him into the starting 11 again at the expense of ramsey and ozil.
But the team is not ready for you. Hopefully, noone gets injured. Fingers crossed.
Everybody is shit and I hate them unless they play in the first team one week and we win then they are the best player ever. If we lose I fucking hate them and hope they never play again and die.
Have some loyalty ffs.
You’re
Beyond all the media hype around Wilshere is the fact that he is still talented and will adjust accordingly. I am saying this because other players in this team have risen to show us what they can do if there is competition around; ergo Giroud, Ozil, and even Monreal. Why would we forget le Coq from this awesome cocktail. Fact is, he is still an Arsenal player until Wenger decides he cannot fit in. Otherwise, he is required to do his best and push on like the rest. Ours is to support through thick and thin. We have done so… Read more »
Welcome back Jack! Don’t fuck yourself up on the attack.
Jheeez, so much negativity towards one of our own?! Many valid points in regards to team chemistry, form etc and I agree in the sense that now isn’t the time for tinkering particularly from a formational perspective. However, we are approaching the business end of the season and how many times in recent seasons have we bemoaned a lack of options, injuries to key players and an inability to make a tactical change in-game? Returning players from injury provide this, competition can only further raise performance levels. Strikes me people are very quick to forget how quickly Wilshere was hailed… Read more »