Jack Wilshere admits Arsenal are happy with a 2-2 draw at Manchester City as they know a win on the final day of the season against Aston Villa will see them finish at least third, thus avoiding a Champions League qualifier.
The England international cut a combative presence when he came on for the injured Danny Welbeck in the first half as Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez got the goals to seal a hard-earned point.
“Yeah, we think it [that point] is going to be big,” Wilshere told Sky Sports after the game.
“We expect to win our home games so next week [against Aston Villa] we can go out and win the game.
“Of course, this year we wanted to win it [the title] but third [place] is better than fourth as you don’t have to go through the qualifiers. We’ll be happy with that.”
At times, the Gunners came under intense pressure from the home side, who were themselves chasing a win that would keep their own Champions League hopes in their own hands going into the final weekend of the season.
Reflecting on the game, Wilshere continued: “They are a good team and you don’t want to be going down early here, but we showed character.
“Even when they went 2-1 up it didn’t look like we could get out of our half at times but then we’ve got dangerous players on the break and Sanchez came up [with the goods] today.
“I think at 2-1 [we were hanging on] and wanted to get them on the break. When it went to 2-2 we knew they’d come out and have a lot of possession. We felt comfortable and could hit them on the break. We had a few chances at the end. If we’d got our head up a bit we’d have been in.”
Having been out injured for most of the season, the opportunity to play such a big part of the game also provided a big boost to Wilshere’s hopes of going to Euro 2016.
He said of the chance to feature: “It was great for me. Obviously, no one wants to come on for an injured player after 20 minutes, especially someone like Danny after all he’s been through.
“For me though, 60/70 minutes in a game like this with a high intensity, the pressure…it was great for me.”
He was actually a breath of fresh air. Please please please don’t get injured at the Euros!
Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t we only a draw to secure 3rd?
Correct. If we win & Spuds lose to Newcastle who will hopefully be fighting to avoid relegation we’ll finish 2nd which would be quite hilarious given this team has been putrid & near unwatchable for much of the season. Dare I say it would be even funnier that when that lot ate some dodgy lasagne
Yes. If we draw City can’t match us on points and while United still could their goal difference is vastly inferior to ours.
Wilshere is one of a kind player. One from the top draw.
Just stay fight mate. Please.
You’ve given up on him staying fit?
Wise move.
Stay fight jacky boy and lay off the marlboros
Played well today, none of the real magic that I believe he’s capable of, but another solid performance on his road of recovery. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: England would be mad not to take him to the Euros, regardless of how many games he’s played.
I am trying to find where Wilshere says he’s happy with a point?
It’s paraphrase
“Yeah, we think it [that point] is going to be big,” Wilshere told Sky Sports after the game
That sounds like he’s happy, no?
Yeah im on your side guys lol Just the usual numpties on the Facebook page of this article using the headline to jump to conclusions like ”Happy with a point?! This is the problem!!!” Where as Wilshere never said he was happy with a point in that context. He meant for the top 3 position we are now aiming for. (hopefully top 2!).
the ref allowed a lot of fouls on jack to go unpunished today, nothing new there then.
Great to see Jack back. He can’t play any other way. It’s full throttle and the good thing is he does bring an ability to get by a player or two through the middle when fully fit. Midfield was competitive today albeit they bossed much of it. As mentioned, we are still missing the sort of player (Santi) who can hold the ball for us in the middle. The Elneny-Ramsey axis isn’t comprised of any DM rather both players make up for the lack of a physical presence with hard work. Santi-Coquelin is the strongest partnership. With the mistakes Elneny… Read more »
i must say, having a midfielder who could control, turn and pass accurately was a breath of fresh air.
god bless jack’s ankles, him and coquelin could be a sublime midfield partnership, been saying it for ages.
he actually misplaced quite a few passes, or didn’t release the ball fast enough.
but he did alright given the occasion and it was good to see him get through a high intensity game like this one.
Just the way he turned people near their box showed something we’ve missed. You have to be able to beat a man there, not try and pass through the center all the time.
It fucks me off how often moves break there and we are totally exposed. It also fucks me off that we never win a 50-50 in the midfield anymore.
I’m a little fucked off at the lack of magic and power in this team.
I’d sure like some more magic and power. In all stretches of life, really. But especially some Arsenal magic and power. That would be pretty neat.
Good to see Wilshere back in action. A little pace to pick up which is to be expected, but right back to finding those small pockets of space to link up and cut through the lines.
Good to see jack back again. a well earned 1 point. now hoping for toon army to do some favours. i want to see the cartoon faces of spuds after they finish 3rd and we rose to 2nd..
Definitely the most talented british player in the team and the most creative after ozil. Love seeing jacky boy on the pitch.
I actually think at 2-1 down we played our best attacking football. Theo’s pace was causing them havoc. If we can find a natural wide player with pace & an end product it will bring so much to this side…
I’m so gutted for Danny, I really hope he makes the Euro’s. So good to see Jack back out there & Santi smiling away when we got our 2nd.
Let’s hope it’s an Arsenal & Newcastle double next week!
Agree with everything in this post.
Theo’s play: First game in…..I can’t even remember how long where I wasn’t screaming at the Theo on the TV to do something. Nice effort.
Also sad for Danny. His face walking off was really a sad sight to see. He knew something was really wrong.
That double win next week would make me very happy. Very happy. Not league-winning-happy obviously, but damn. Very happy.
As disappointing as this season has been, Leicester have produced a very decent points total, and may end up on 83 if they beat Chelsea. The last Arsenal side to accumulate more were the Invincibles, so perhaps 2nd or 3rd was all we could have expected anyway.
um yeah but we BEAT them 2x!!!!
Good win. Still got this nagging feeling that the players might be too relaxed against Villa, but hopefully they will understand what’s at stake. Hoping Evetrton will crush Sunderland and will be switching between channels gnawing my nails come Sunday…
*Good result. Felt like a win. My bad.
Even though the reauktwas good, I can’t help thinking that Arsenal still cannot control a game. If Aguero had more luck this match may have been lost. When was the last time Arsenal actually controlled a game?
Even though Leicester have played defensive Italian style football for the last half of the season, it looks as if they dictate the pace of the game. We do need players who can impose their will on the game.
So are we all Everton fans mid-week hoping they beat Sunderland so Newcastle have something to play for on Sunday against Sp*rs?
Of course!
Plus, there might be the added bonus of Fat Sam getting relegated, which would also be nice 🙂
City sure didn’t look like the team that played mid week in Madrid. Maybe that’s it, they didn’t play in Madrid if you know what I mean.
Happy with a point at City. Happy with a point at Sp*rs. Happy to lead Man United 3-0 after 20 mins and then play it cool, instead of properly trash them, like Chelsea and Liverpool trashed us when they had the opportunity. Happy to earn a top four place. This is why Arsene needs to go, really…
“Finishing 2nd would be more hilarious than when that lot ate dodgy lasagne”
What would be funny is if they draw 0-0 with Newcastle, taking them to 71 (GD-38), and we beat Villa 13-0, finishing on 71 (GD-38). But go 2nd due to more goals scored. I would truly piss my self with laughter.
The ultimate St Totteringhams Day. Oh well, I can day dream.