Arsene Wenger has backed Jack Wilshere to make England’s EURO 2016 squad insisting the player should be at peak fitness by the time the tournament starts on 10 June.
Roy Hodgson has room for 12 midfielders and forwards in a squad of 23 and hasn’t ruled out calling up the Arsenal man if he can prove his form in the final weeks of the season.
While Wilshere, 24, won’t feature against West Bromwich Albion tomorrow evening, he could be called upon in the Gunners remaining games with Sunderland, Manchester City, Norwich and Aston Villa.
Speaking on Wednesday, Wenger was optimistic about his player’s chances of travelling to France, revealing: “Wilshere has absorbed well his first obstacle. That means get games and finally get 90 minutes. The positive is that he had no setbacks.
“In every game he was sharper, he has a good fitness basis. The progression now should be normal and he is available for selection from the next game (Sunderland) onwards.”
He continued: “Yes [he has enough time] because he has not played three games already. The European Championship starts on June 10 and until then is nearly two months. If you look at his fitness at the moment, in two months he should be perfectly fit.
“If he has no setbacks he would not be a gamble.”
Wilshere scored against West Bromwich Albion’s under-21s on Monday night having also played for Steve Gatting’s young Gunners against Newcastle and Swansea in recent weeks.
If he gets first team minutes in the last few matches Wilshere’s challenge is to deliver the kind of eye-catching performances that saw him quickly win back his England place last summer.
Wilshere didn’t feature for the Gunners between November and May in the last campaign but stormed back to action in the final five games; performances that delivered him Match of the Day’s goal of the season gong and an FA Cup medal. He went on to anchor the England midfield against Slovenia, scoring two stunning goals in a 3-2 win.
Good news to have him back. A few games at the Euros will do him the world of good for match fitness.
Oh man, I salute your optimism.
The pessimist in me is tempted to amend the headline to say “Wilshere will be perfectly fit for 2016…for the first 43 minutes of the opening game.”
Damn Wenger Bruh don’t jinx him
Next season must be his last chance. Stay fit or get out. Then another team can deal with your waste of wages and late-night-drunken-hiding-behind-bin antics.
Probably play for England and get injured again.
Would rather he has a good pre-season with us.
I don’t know about that. If he got injured for England it would force Wenger to buy more. If he had a good pre-season with us, he’ll probably get injured and ruled out of six months three days after the transfer window closes and we’ll be short because Wenger will be Wenger and gamble on Wilshere’s fitness as usual.
“Force Wenger to buy”
That’s cute.
“if he has no set backs” – yeah right, he spent most of last season and this season out injured!!! I don’t unfortunately think we will ever get a decent season out of Wilshire – diaby mark two? Or is that Theo, the ox, rosicky, Gibbs and the list goes on!!!
I hope they don’t make it past the group stages so that he can work on his fitness for the upcoming season.
How about giving him a game for the club that pays his wages.
Coquelin + Wilshere would be just astonishing combination for many years to come. They complement each other so well, and they’ve been together for almost 10 years now.
If only…
Where and when have you seen them play to say that “they complement each other”..
If being friends of the pitch would be the criteria, then Flamini would be indispensable to us..
Wilshere is the nearest thing we have to Cazorla. One touch, passer, dribbler, pre/assist type, final pass good etc… And much more disciplined than Ramsey. Is there a good combination without Coquelin?
I think Elneny is becoming irreplaceable though.
Perfectly fit to go to the Euros and get injured and miss the start of the new season…mark my words it’s scripted.
Not trying to be disrespectful, but I think Roy would be foolish to select him knowing his injury record.
A half fit Wilshere is better than anything else the English midfield can offer.
Reading Arsenes comments, one thing stands out. After 20 years working in this country he still gets a lot of his words in the wrong order when composing a sentence. He is quite Yoda like in his speech.
How many languages do you have spinning in your mind Corporal?
Only two, but on a serious level, I wonder if you can read something into it the can be compared to his management. He can obviously speak English, but just hasn’t mastered the finer subtleties, or feels he doesn’t have to. His football teams are always nearly there too. I remember reading his biography ‘The Proffessor’ around 2002. The thing that alway stood out was in France he had the reputation as the man who always came second.
They’re wrong then because we always come 4th 🙂
…Only to get injured again and miss yet another Arsenal season! Story of the WheelChair.
Great to see him coming back to full fitness.
I’m sure he’ll play a big part in our remaining games and for England!
Great to know he’ll be fit for Euros. Great.
Are Euros the priority in how to manage Jack and Theo?
Who cares???
Who gives a tinkers cuss….
Great news. This year we paid him £4,680,000 and he hasn’t kicked a ball in anger. But the Arsenal Physio team have managed to patch him up in time for England. No doubt he will be brilliant and get injured in thei last game and be it for another 8 months. Don’t forget he got banjaxed the year before and was out for 7 months. So I for one fail to see this as good news, I would prefer him to use the summer to train and get ready for US next season. Arsenal have pumped about 9 million quid… Read more »
Couldnt give a fiddlers fuck.
Utd just won tonight……..we are in a dog fight for the top four, with a team that are genuinely fuckin terrible.
I continue to be depressed and care not for this story.
Blogs any word on the “Little Mozart”? Seems like all the focus has gone on Wilshere’s return. Am hoping for one more game where he reminds us just what he brought to this team.