Arsene Wenger has backed Jack Wilshere to fulfil his potential at Arsenal stressing a sustained period of fitness will help the midfielder rediscover the form he showed when he broke into the team as a 16-year-old.
Wilshere hasn’t featured for the Gunners since the November clash with Manchester United when a horrible tackle by Paddy McNair damaged his ankle.
Having recovered from surgery the 23-year-old has found himself down the pecking order at the Emirates with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil keeping him on the bench.
The lack of game time has led to speculation that Wilshere could leave Arsenal this summer – Manchester City have been tipped to make a bid – but Wenger refused to entertain the departure of his Academy graduate.
“Jack is an Arsenal player,” said Wenger on Friday. “I believe the success of the club in the future years will depend on how well the young players educated here will do, and he is part of that.
“Jack is in front of what we expected him to be,” he continued when quizzed on the player’s fitness. “What takes a long time and what people underestimate a little bit is that to get back to be capable to play is one thing, but to be back and be capable to be sharp and efficient takes a bit longer.
“Even the players, from the moment they train again fully and the moment they are really back to their level, they are impatient, but it takes much longer than they think to get sharp again.
“In the Premier League it is a fraction of a second that makes you efficient or not. [Wilshere] needs competition. At the moment, every week he is stronger, he is getting back to the level now. This week was the first week he is sharp again.
“His strength is in the final third, offensively. That is where he really expresses his talent. It is difficult to get in this team, I don’t deny that. If you consider any individual case you can say you are sorry that he doesn’t play.
“[Competition for places] is much more difficult. David Ospina, Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin have all come in, and it is very hard to pick the team at the moment as they are all top quality.”
“Jack plays with freedom as soon as he is back, so I don’t think on that front it will be a problem. But he needs now one or two years without problems to really get the full confidence and belief back, and I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen.”
Wilshere is expected to be part of the squad that travels to Hull City on Monday night.
Looks like Jack has another chance from Arsene, I hope he takes it…
He’s on chances?
What happened to the first one? I’m having trouble recalling what he did wrong with it.
Another “chance” to show us what he can do.
Before he mainly showed us he keeps the ball too long and runs into people a lot!
Let’s see which Jack turns up this time…
of course he does. its not as if he has performed poorly recently. he was playing very well, a lot of people seem to forget too easily. jack is great and he’s going to get in the team and make a difference.
Don’t get me wrong, like Wilshire, but from what I remember I don’t think you could really argue that he was playing well before his injury… better players in the squad at the moment, can’t see him getting a start
Even better players get injured, or get caught smoking waterproof ciggies in the showers.
It’s not “another chance”, it’s a natural progression following a serious ankle injury in a team of strongly competitive players. Wenger has a long term plan and he is clearly sticking to it with his young core of players. Your Ozils and Debuchys and Cazorlas are great now, but they will slowly give way to your Ramsey’s and Wilshire’s and Bellerin’s over time in an organized and natural development of the team. Wenger doesn’t choose or develop his squad according to fan preferences.
I just hope Jack is not Another Diaby in the Making
Arsene is ruthless now …
My stomach hurts to see the shit team win the premier league. I feel this is beginning of new era in Arsenal with us dominating from next season. One thing is for sure whatever we do we shall do it with class.
Style with ruthlessness and killer instinct!
*Shit club*. The team is not shit infact I’d say that their team deserved it. If we would have won the league this season after the absolute shit start of the season I would not have been overly happy. We had a great end to the season but it is about keeping the consistency up in a good level through out the entire season and we have not successfully done that for the last 10 season which is why we haven’t won it. I am sure that we could challenge next season if players stays fit.
I’m ignoring Chelsea winning this year. They still have less League wins than Sunderland, so they’re not worth worrying about. They’re still a small team with a small manager. What I did take from this weekend: 1) LVG is an utter bastard. He forced poor, gentle, polite and quietly spoken Rip van Pursey to play an entire game with a splitting headache. I know this because the well-mannered young man spent the entire game with his head in his hands. 2) If Arsenal lose each of their last five games 3-0 and Sp*rs win each of their last three games… Read more »
Anyway, why should we worry? We are the best team in Europe. Wasn’t it you that told us that last week in the papers?
That would be me.
jack is Arsenal through and through. I hope he fulfills his potential with us.
he needs to work on aspects of his game though. knowing the competitive kind of person he is, I bet he is just dying to make the fa cup team.
mercenaries come and go, what we have left are the ones who love the club and want to win trophies with us.
Jack is a West Ham fan.
Jack wants to play football week in ,week out. If he is not doing that with Arsenal he will look else where.
It’s a job for these guys, don’t believe for a second that they wouldn’t move elsewhere if it benefited them.
Wilshire is a West Ham fan. Poor fellow has to play for Arsenal.
Jenkinson is an Arsenal fan. Poor fellow has to play for West Ham.
Football. It’s a funny old game.
The problem for Wilshere is how is he going to get back in the team. Both Cazorla and Ozil are well ahead of him in the pecking order right now. And Jack’s injury problems and off-the-pitch activities haven’t helped him much, either. If City do want him then Wenger should seriously consider selling him: a huge fee for a player who’s injury prone and surplus to requirements sounds like good business to me. Fantastic weekend for us so far, isn’t it? I didn’t see that defeat for United to Albion coming; from a terrific position a month ago Man U… Read more »
Am just happy that we don’t have to sell the best again. Wilshire has to prove himself on and off the pitch.
Thank god we don’t have to sell our best players but we’re not talking about one of our best players we’re talking about Wilshere.
Think before you speak mate
I genuinely believe a top-form Jack gets in this team. Since Rambo’s taken it up a level, people forget how much quality Jack has.
I would happily take this as the first XI for 2015/16 in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation:
Cech; Monreal, Kos, Gab, Bellerin; Coq; Wilshere, Ramsey; Ozil; Sanchez, Giroud.
oh another coach again
Too much football manager? I think so.
So let me get this straight. You wanna leave cazorla out?????
See what happens when you put a cunt in goal!!!!
So your going to play ozil or Ramsey out wide. Needs a bit more thought me thinks.
After the Alexis article, Arseblog needs long term fitness
How will this ‘new era’ work out if AW decides not to renew his contract?
I will always remember his masterclass against barca, one of the best individual arsenal performances since the turn of the century without a doubt!
A teenager completely outplayed Xavi at his peak in the middle of the park. The 2-1 is still one of the greatest wins against perhaps the best club side at the peak of their game that has ever played.
Then the 0-3 loss at Camp Nou without a single shot at goal. Our worst game ever statistics wise. Thanks god, this wouldn’t happen with our current team.
Is that the game we lost 3-1 and had the dutch skunk sent off by a fuckwit ref?
Our defensive performance in the first half of that game was disciplined and quality, we didn’t deserve to concede on the cusp of half time but we did. And then after we equalised, the ref bizarrely sent off Van Persie which pretty much ensured it would be Barca’s night. It was impossible to contain them with ten. The next day in the media – I particularly remember that Greek cunt Kastrinakis in The Sun – decided to focus on us not having a shot on target over the 90 mins (although we scored). Not on how close we’d run this… Read more »
And Bendtner was a Mascherano last ditch challenge away from putting us through 🙁
No… Nicky’s touch was shit and the ball ran past him to Mascherano to clear. That ladies and gents was the pinnacle of TGSTEL
Haha, the miss against Barca was good, but the miss, if you can call it that, against Liverpool was peak Bendtner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTxd-pDcznM&spfreload=1
You see how history gets re-written by shitheads like Kastratinakis? He said we didn’t have a shot on target, so people who don’t actually check anything for themselves automatically assume we must have lost 3-0.
If I remember correctly, it is the same game where Cesc did a back-pass from just outside our penalty box to Iniesta.It ended in our net. One of the stupidest football moves I have ever seen!
He thought he was playing for spain I believe!
back-heel*
Koscielny was pretty awesome that night as well.
When Cazorla eventually hangs his boots, jack looks the most natural replacement for his current role (deeper midfield) who can provide an outlet for the centrebacks and dribble out of danger.
SIDE NOTE : As hilarious as Robin ‘YOU GUYS’ van persie’s penalty miss was, I hope that lot don’t go on such a terrible run that it makes our upcoming game at old trafford completely meaningless.
Direct qualification for CL is for us to lose.
He means he wants us to get the chance to hammer the last nail in United’s coffin for this season. Smacked down into 5th place by The Arsenal at Old Trafford. Doomed to Thursaday night football by US. Why wouldn’t you enjoy that?
I would reckon Ramsey would be replacement for Santi. Jack is a ball carrier, we need someone more flexible. I reckon Ramsey is much more suited to the role.
Fully agree. At both their pomps, Ramsey is much better offensively and defensively for that box-to-box role.
I really really really hope Wenger doesn’t try and shoe-horn Jack into the starting squad with that annoying 4-1-4-1 like he did the start of the season.
Quite frankly, I don’t know where Jack fits. Back up CM? Back up AM? Heck maybe try to convert him into a left-footed wide player maybe?
Just don’t want to see that 4-1-4-1 ever again with our current lot.
Everyone everywhere: no shit.
Lest we forget: Man U were sh*t yesterday ahahaha
Guys about last night boxing match….Am I the only one who seem to take it as a déjà vu of the Arsenal vs Chelsea match? Pacquiao with his class, humbleness, speed and attacking style and Mayweather with his tug-ish personality(but not quite as cunt as the Chavs, thank god!) and defensive style. And guess what…one plays the vibrant match but the other wins with points!
I actually posted on my Facebook that mourinho has a lot in common with MAYWEATHER. Classless cunts
Mayweather, like Chelsea, is technically good but dull to watch. Pacquaio was piss poor unfortunately and looked out of ideas from the midway point. More like John Carver’s Newcastle than Arsenal.
Notbsure how pac man is “poor”. Overstatement much
You obviously didnt see the fight.
Wilshere’s injury prone and unprofessional and i hope this is an exercise in boosting his value in the eyes of a very desperate Man City. Santi and Coq have come in and shown up both Ramsey and Wilshere in the last few months. Both those players should be watching Cazorla very carefully as he has been playing the position that they are both vying for in a far more effective and responsible manner than either have been this season. If neither take on a more Santi like approach, i.e. playing closer to our defensive midfielder, less of trying to dribble… Read more »
Go away you are drunk!
Gave you the benefit of the doubt earlier. Silly me.
“His strength is in the final third, offensively”. I’ve been telling Wenger for years that Jackie needs to play behind the striker, but he never listens. All those letters I wrote him, perfumed with exotic oils, delicate fagrances and my tears and kisses, and the bastard never once wrote back. Well if he doesn’t want my love and advice and love and insight and love and support and love, I guess I’ll just bugger off. Just imagine the fun times we could have, just you and I (but bring Rosicky with). Oh Arsene, why! :'(
Can’t help but think that unless one of ramsey or wilshere ups their defensive aspects, arsene will find it hard to play both of them unless we’re chasing a game. It’s great that players like santi and Ozil can show him how to protect the ball (and their ankles) when going forward and hopefully in doing so, extending his career – still can’t stop cunts from trying to cunt them down. We’re lucky that we didn’t have to rely on jack so heavily and he can properly grow into his place on the first team, starter or otherwise. Really hope… Read more »
If he can’t get have an injury-free season next season then should be sold, as he clearly won’t ever be able to fulfil his potential if that’s the case.
So Hazard dives to win a penalty, then runs into Mariappa who then receives a yellow. It’s a conspiracy, isn’t it Maureen?
you could interpret the last part of that quote as arsene telling jack and everyone else that he doesn’t have a starting role in this team and that it might take 1-2 years before he does – and that’s only if he proves himself. at least i hope that’s the case because you really can’t say that the team is better with jack – actually it’s the opposite. it’s hard to find a player with so many stats stacked against him and yet be so touted in the press and within the arsenal organization and fan base as the greatest… Read more »
Happy St Totteringham’s Day!!!
No it must be tomorrow. That’s why there’s a bank holiday
Can the six people that thumbed up the St Totteringham’s Day post please report after school for an extra maths lesson. Thank you.
Not St. Totts yet. They can still finish above us if they win all their remaining games, we lose all ours, and they turn around a 26 goal difference.
Tomorrow at Hull, that’ll be St. Totteringham’s Day.
The sad truth about our injury prone retinue. We’ve sold a number off. Van Persie, one good season at United and back to liability (if not unable to convert penalties now) Nasri hobbles on for City and hobbles off injured, not that we’re complaining. Vermaelen, half a season missing . Currently we have Jack, Ramsey, Gibbs all highly injury prone(not to mention Diaby) I suspect Arteta with age will also fall into the category. Rosicky is another one. Which is why it may be crucial for us to add someone NOT in DM where Coquelin and Flamini should be sufficient… Read more »
Not yet mathematically me thinks?
They got 83 points. We can get 82 points. Title race is mathematically over. And it has been over for quite some time in my honest opinion. A 10 point lead is not easy to drop late in to the season. If we would have had a better autumn & winter we could have runned them very close or even won it.
what’s more boring: the election, the mayweather/pacquio fight, or chelsea?
Chels………snore….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
If I was a Chelsea fan (me shudders to think), I would agree that Chelsea are boring. And follow with, that’s because we’re so much better than everybody else.
If I was a Chelsea fa……snore…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
If I was a Chelsea fan I’d voluntarily commit myself.
They should put them all in a ring and make them fight to the death. Politicians, mayweather/pacquio, and Chelsea. Bags I get to shoot the survivor.
A mate of mine commented that Mayweather is the Mourihno of boxing. Bang on!
Wenger the genius……….Jack wil either do it or not…..its up to him………Arsene will encourage like a father!
On a side note, it was that miserable fuckwit Mc Nair who took him out this time, as he surged into the box. In reality Jack holds it too long and fuckwits do what fuckwits do!!! Come on Jack, nut the little bollix and then play the incisive pass…….I know you are going to be world class.
Man U
Defence …….Angry bird Valencia, Lumbering Jones, Witless Smalling, Young Diva.
They’ve spent fuckin millions, what a joke.
Oh wait a mo……….they’ll buy Bale…….that’ll sort it out ……..for a meagre 100 mill.
And little boy Robin is still there, what a shambles.
I hate Pulis, but today I like him, no , I actually wud get my sister to ride him ( she’s a dog )
I’ve seen some weird shit on the internet but like WHAT the fuck
“Francis Coquelin keeping Jack Wilshere on the bench.” — there’s a comment I never thought I would see!
Amount of people spelling “Wilshere” as “Wilshire” is unacceptable tbh.
Maths AND English lacking on here!
These after school lessons are going to fuller that the Spuds trophy cabinet! 🙂
*more full than
See you after school then!
🙂
I still have no idea where he fits into an Arsenal starting XI.
I think Jack should just work towards being Santis replacement, Santi has about 3 maybe 4 top quality seasons left ? I wouldn’t want Jack to leave, I could see him being a top talent at another club by the time hes 26/28. Injuries permitting.