AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso says he’s liked Jack Wilshere’s style ever since coming up against the England international in the Emirates Cup in 2010.
The 26-year-old midfielder was wanted at the San Siro before he joined Bournemouth on loan in the summer of 2016 and similar speculation has again come to the fore with the player stalling on a new deal at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Wilshere has been offered a contract extension despite his history of injury problems but it’s suggested the player is unhappy with the financial terms in light of pay rises given to teammates.
Asked about Wilshere ahead of this evening’s Europa League last-16 second leg clash between the Gunners and the Rossoneri, Gattuso was very complimentary.
“I remember him when I came here to play a tournament in 2011,” said the Milan coach.
“He isn’t particularly fast, but does have good technique. He can make the ball do the running and knows where to put it. He can play both as a support striker and playmaker.
“Wilshere had a lot of physical problems and is a player I always appreciated, but he’s unusual. He combines English grit with Spanish technique. I like him a lot.”
Wilshere is expected to earn a recall to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for matches with Holland and Italy when it is announced this afternoon. He hasn’t played for his country since the Three Lions’ disastrous exit in Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland and will no doubt use the boost to strengthen his position in contract talks.
With proper management and coaching he’d be a good player, but you could say the same about a few of our players
True, imagine how good Henry, RvP, Lauren, Toure, Koscielny, Ashley Cole, Pires, Vieira, Fabregas, Sagna etc would have been under proper mgmt.
Don’t forget Song, we made an okay centre-back into a midfielder that Barcelona bought.
Can you name a player that’s applied to that hasn’t been retired for the last 5 years?
Or two we managed to keep hold of (I say two as Koscielny is in the mix)
Sanchez, Myki T, Santi Carzola in Midfield, Arteta, Ramsey (3 FA Cups), Giroud (3 FA Cups)
Add Monreal to that as well.
All of us want a change in the manager, but it’s really unbecoming of some fans to discredit Wenger for what he has achieved here at the club for the last couple of decades just to drive their narrative.
It is possible to want a change but still respect a man who has dedicated 22 years of his life to our club.
Monreal , mertesacker , Ozil, bellerin
You can always tell who became an arsenal fan recently. They always think Wenger joined Arsenal 5 years ago and has done nothing to develop world class players. The man developed a ballon d’or player in his career for heaven’s sake. How many managers can say the same. If Henry wasn’t robbed a few times, Wenger would have developed 2 ballon d’or winners
and a President of a country!!!
Double? “Vote Down”
SOMETIMES-A-MAYBE-GOOD-SOMETIMES-A-MAYBE-SHIT
:)))) perfect!!
We do have a little gem in Wilshere
He’s very good, Jack.
I like him too, Rino. Hope he signs the new deal.
Roy Keane is a pratt.
He doesnt look that fearless Jack we know anymore. Injuries has taken a toll on him. Maybe it’s time we part ways for the benefits of all. He’ll always be one of us.
Wait, what? Jack got slagged off for being too aggressive, getting stuck in too much and as a result always being injured. Too much of a hot head, they called him. Now that he’s matured noticeably, plays a more sophisticated game, isn’t injured as much and is morphing into the sort of valuable dribbling pass-making midfielder Arsenal needs, some supporters make comments like this. So; In your eyes, Jack is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. So he didn’t turn into another Iniesta or Xavi (once in lifetime talents, btw) and Jack gets shit on. What on… Read more »
Since he appears reluctant to extend with us then by all means Gattuso, take a punt on him. Have him with his frequent and long term injuries and all.
And from Jack’s perspective why not spend a few years in Italy? Must be better than the sinking ship that is the UK and it’s shit weather.
Lot of fans spitting at Wilshere today were calling him a world-class player before. Gattuso knows a.couple of things about midfield players. You guys need to listen.
Exactly! And it’s all because of the contract situation. If he signed tomorrow we’d be saying he’s a world beater but because he hasn’t signed he’s a mercenary. More than a little childish isn’t it?
The interesting thing about this situation for me is that it might signify a change in tact from Arsenal as a club regarding how they deal (contractually) with players hindered by injury. Thinking of the past where we’ve kept players under contract throughout their injury period in the hope of them coming back (e.g. Diaby) it seems logical that something might have to change. If this is the case though I also don’t know whether we’ll see Cazorla in an Arsenal shirt again and that thought just makes me sad. In that respect though it strikes me as a little… Read more »
It seems like Sanhelli & Sven have taken over squad building. That matters a lot as they simply see the Jack that is front of them vs. when Wenger controlled contracts he had a history with Jack. That will be a major change for a lot of our players.
And might be playing on Jack’s mind as well. This is a very big decision for him to make, compounded by the state of flux the club is in.
Every player , whoever he is , should be judged on what they contribute to the club’s results and winnning trophies with them playing — so if wilshere plays and contributes to a good performance and makes a diffference to his club winning a trophy , then of course he should be made a good offer
He may have English grit and Spanish technique, but the third attribute you need to be a really good player he doesn’t have: tactical awareness or positional discipline. Who knows, he probably never got coached properly in that skill, but it will always hold him back.
I read a damning piece of tactical analysis of the Carabao Cup final recently. The writer specifically pointed out the “chaotic” pressing attempts by Wilshere…
Misread that at first: 16-second leg-clash. I’d settle for 16 seconds of legs clashing though, doubt even we’ll concede 2 goals in that space of time…
2010? 2011.. make your mind up
The English media play this game every year. They ask a foreign manager what they think of some average English player who happens to be in the news at the moment. To be polite, the manager pays him a few compliments. The English media then trumpets these quotes to no end as evidence of the greatness of English players. This is why otherwise average players like Scholes, Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard – who never accomplished anything on the international stage – are believed to be ‘world class’ in England.
Yeah, but. I was never a great admirer of Scholes, but Xavi really said all those things about him–and not in the context of being polite etc, that you reference. (He also praised Santi Cazorla, before I had ever heard of him.)
Tbf they were all world class at one point or another (obviously Rooney is pretty shite these days but you don’t get to be Utd’s record goal scorer that easy). What’s Messi ever won on the international stage?
Do agree with your point for the most part though.
Think u are a bit off point there. All those players were instrumental in their clubs winning Champions League. Not exactly nothing on the international stage
Pretty decent summary from Gattuso.
The problem with Wilshere is that he plays in the wrong league. He is fragile but technically he is so good he ‘s got the level to succeed in La Liga . It’a s a no brainer for his career, just like english players used to do in the 80’s he should move abroad.
Does anybody think Wilshere’s frame is just getting too big (especially his quads)? In fact in general I think the guy could honestly afford to lose a few pounds to help him get a bit of his speed back. I’m not saying he is fat, far from it, to me he just seems to carry to much muscle. I know the EPL is a physical league and you need a bit of muscle to hold your own, but it’s never stopped Xavi and Iniesta bossing physical teams. Was watching some footage of the guy from years and years ago, especially… Read more »