Jack Wilshere says he’s feeling good about his performances this season claiming regular game time in the centre of midfield is helping him find consistency.
The England international has, when fit, been regularly deployed in his preferred number 10 position excelling against Manchester City and looking lively against both Sp*rs and Chelsea.
Set to anchor England’s midfield in their Euro 2016 qualifiers with San Marino and Estonia, the 23-year-old reflected on his season so far:
“I feel good and I’m always looking to improve, no matter what. For a player of my age, I’ve missed a lot of football so I’m just trying to play as much as I can, train as much as I can and I’ve always said that when I get fully fit you’ll see the best of me.
“I said at the start of the season that it was going to take some time to get back to my best. Ever since my first injury, it’s always taken a run of games – probably between five and 10 – to get back to my best.
“Some players are different, some players come back and are at their best straight away. But some need a run of games and I’m one of those players.”
In other news, Wojciech Szczesny says Arsenal must kick on after the international break but believes the result against Chelsea, while damaging, wasn’t down to a poor performance.
“I thought it was a very even game, but Chelsea have an ability to keep clean sheets at home and I thought they were very good, they took their chances with two brilliant moments.
“One, the brilliant run from Hazard that led to the penalty. On the second goal, the ball from Cesc and the finish. Sometimes you’ve got to take your hat off to the brilliance of the opposition.
“We’ve had a tough run so far. But I’d like to think that our start has been solid, not as good as we expected from ourselves but I believe that, after the international break, we can push on and get more points.
“You can’t say we’ve played badly against Chelsea, it’s just that we’ve come up against a very strong side, probably the favourites to win the Premier League at this point.”
Arseblog News sees where Wojciech is coming from, but probably (much like you dear readers) we don’t much fancy taking our hat off to Chelsea’s brilliance.
Next time we’d rather piss in our hat and throw said headpiece in Mourinho’s face. We’re bloody bored and fed up of losing to such a horrible pack of jarring swag-bellied varlots.
“We’re bloody bored and fed up of losing to such a horrible pack of jarring swag-bellied varlots.”
Damn straight.
Personally thought jack had a good game against the chavs, only one who looked like making something happen really. One bad touch aside.
Alexis looked lively too. He had their defense pretty nervous at times. A shame we couldn’t convert any of the promising goal scoring situations we made. We promised a lot more ‘attacking wise’ than Chelski, but they took their moments.
Wilshere has good potential. The problem is, he’s obsessed with playing one twos. He ends up slowing down the attacks. He’s predictable and the weak link right now.
Chelsea loss is going to ruin my two weeks until i see arsenal win again..i am sick n tired of losing to them..can we win against them at Emirates..some body please say yes !
Yes
Theo Please Come Back Quickly,We Need You Badly And I Hope We Will Get Back In Winning Ways After International Break…And Jack Has Done Pretty Well This Season We Need Him To Perform Like Against Man City More This Season..!!!
Personally I’m hopeful for Theo’s return. Imagine this : Ozil feeding balls left and right to Theo and Alexis, while Dannyboy running around and creating spaces. We could be so good…
Fastastic Four…
Sadly it’s (the idea of Ozil feeding Sanchez, Ox, Walcott et al) gonna have to stay in our imagination, for our dear manager seems to believe that Ozil out wide and Jack through the middle is the best use of our resources. I love Jack, but if anyone believes his end product in and around the box merits him playing the coveted #10 role then….well….I’d beg to differ. 106 games with just 6 goals and 12 assists seems to back that up. He is great at breaking through the lines but does his best work from deep. Until we go… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more.
Absolutely spot on. Why is the whole mid field (and by extension the team) being sacrificed for Wilshire? It really doesn’t make sense. No wonder Ozil. Alexis and Santi are off colour.
Has it not occured to anyone that this may be Arsene’s way of building up Wilshere’s confidence after his injury.
Ozil will handle the criticism I suspect (Aston Villa)…and will eventually get his no. 10 role…he wasn’t all that bad technically on Sunday…although against bunch of shite cloggers you can’t expect much more.
It’s like Blogs mentioned in a previous post…one step back to take a final leap forward.
then again…#wengerout??
Maybe it’s because Wenger feels going with two in midfield will help us put pressure on opponents and speed up our attacking play? The idea that this is all being done to accommodate Wilshere is ridiculous and more than a little mean-spirited. After all, Wenger is playing CAZORLA in the middle ahead of Ozil too. And the idea that a 4-2-3-1 would solve all of our woes (we played that last season, we finished 4th) is wishful thinking in the extreme. Making Wilshere, Ozil, the 4-3-3 or whatever into (e)scapegoats isn’t going to solve anything
When did Jack play in the #10 role?
Yes, I feel that the 4 2 3 1 setup is the best way to go. Ozil should be in the middle of the 3 part with Alexis and Walcot either side. Jack should play alongside Ramsey in the 2 and replace Flamini, who has become a bit of a liability of late. It would give the wing backs more of a license to venture forward on breaks, but not always have to leave the rearguard exposed. We have had far too many injuries to our fullbacks while flogging themselves to death on runs that should be done by our… Read more »
Bit unfair to use Wilshere’s total career stats against him seeing as he’s been playing since he was 16! Also taking into account his current age, his injuries, the fact that he tends to play deeper than No.10 and the fact that he played in every midfield position last season (while injured) and I think it’s fair to say that his stats don’t reflect his ability! Podolski’s total career stats far surpass Walcott’s. But who would you rather have in your team? Also, the idea that going back to a 4-2-3-1 would solve all of our problems is so naively… Read more »
…all of Jack’s “Action Shots” are of him running with his tongue out. They look so unbelievably cool to me, and I can’t comprehend why.
All am concerned with is that we should get back to winning ways and challenge for that trophy. Arsenal is a big team so we need to start creating fears in the mind of oppositions and stop being a mediocre. #COYG
Jack has been our best player this season alongside chambers….
Not sure why that’s got so many dislikes. Any other candidates, people?
he was much much better in the second half against Chelsea and his goal against City was excellent. Having said that, he dribbles too much, like Ramsey, and can be guilty of giving the ball away out of sheer carelessness. Overall, he’s been ok with a few good spells and a few bad patches. If he can reduce the number and the ‘badness’ his bad patches, be a bit more decisive with his passing we have ‘top top top’ player here. For now, he needs to be ‘better, still better’ to quote the BFG. Have to say I like his… Read more »
It takes forever for us to pull the trigger & Jack is part of the guilty party. He is also easily fouled so rhythm gets broken time & again. When Mesut is around he should be the number 10 and jack either plays behind or be his cover. The problem goes beyond individual players though – the whole problem is with the way we attack when pressed – its like there is a fear, a tangible mental block…
Theo and serge back we should have tons of attacking depth…
@Blogs
Can we get bigger thumbs up/down buttons please? Such a fiddle on my mobile.
I’ve lost the love I once had for this lad. Dribbles too much, holds the ball too long till he’s fouled and complains a lot. You might make the mistake of thinking he’s the only one “trying to make something happen” with his runs but they always seem to end up with him on the ground.
Arsene also seems to be hurting Ozil to accommodate wilshere in the team and I definitely don’t agree with that.
Ouch. The truth hurts. I would definitely like to see Jack do less whining and gesticulating from a seated position, and execute crisper passing. He is capable of some exquisite dinks over the top to our forwards and some lovely one-twos, but can’t see the early ball as well as Ozil and Cazorla. His limitations have became fairly evident, but he’s a real talent and can earn his way at Arsenal and for England. The expectations were overblown and it’s unfair to blame him for not meeting them. That’s not to say that he won’t keep improving, of course.
wenger continuing to play players out of formation continues to frustrate me immensely. It’s quite forward in my eyes. Players to rotate in DM: flamini, arteta, diaby, coquelin In CM: ramsey, wilshere, ox In RM: ox, Walcott, gnabry, Sanchez In LM: Sanchez, podolski, ox In AM: ozil, cazorla Ozil/cazorla should never play anywhere else than the AM role. Not on the left not on the right and not in CM. Jack/ramsey have enough to play CM by themselves without the need for an extra body in that position. Also we need wingers on the wing who are natural at that… Read more »
Straight forward*
Earlier post
(Jack has been our best player this season)
What the fuck have you been smoking.
Overrated has to many touches therefore will always get injured and slows the game down to much.
I think we’ve been really really good on the counter attack this season (something which the chavs stopped us from doing by constantly fouling us – absolute scum) but the problem has come when we’ve been forced to take the initiative and break down the team that’s defending. The worst part is, I’m not sure how we’re gonna fix that. Hopefully Wenger has a plan! What do you guys think? How do we fix this problem?
Wenger can’t afford to play three #10’s now that theo is back. Frankly I don’t care who he drops, just frustrating when you have so many playmakers on the field who end up creating nothing.
Theo Please Come Back Quickly,We Need You Badly And I Hope We Will Get Back In Winning Ways After International Break…And Jack Has Done Pretty Well This Season We Need Him To Perform Like Against Man City More This Season..!!!
Form? What form?
It’s a form similar to the one Theo described a few years back: “Consistent in patches.”
Heh, I’ve always loved that one. It’s like saying a zebra is completely white. With black stripes.
I can’t help but shake the feeling that Wenger is trading a Lamborghini for a Porsche here. Wilshere’s potential is no doubt great, but is it truly so great that it’s worth more or less sacrificing Ozil and perhaps even Ramsey for it?
Wenger obviously seems to think so, and he’s willing to do almost anything to accommodate Wilshere at this point, but it is quite risky. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll end up sacrificing a lot without gaining a great deal.
Coudnt agree more!
spot on comment
I think Jack has been improving game by game, hopefully he’ll be flying soon. He seems to be the only player with a pair of nuts this season, who’s trying to make things happen in the big games and stepping up. I’m sick of reading all this PR guff from our camp saying ‘Chelsea are quality’.. ‘They’re a top side,’ ..’Favourites to win the Premier League’… like its a way of justifying losing, like another defeat there was totally acceptable, ‘like oh well, ..nothing we can do, they’re better then us,.. we tried our best,’.. It just absolute bollocks. Its… Read more »
I honestly don’t think it’s a matter of mentality. I think it’s mostly down to somewhat naive tactics that are fairly straight forward for the likes of Mourinho, Ferguson and Pellegrini to figure out. Wenger is one of the best managers in the world in damn near every department, but choosing not to grind out results away against the best teams in the world is overly optimistic. It worked for the Invincibles because they were simply better than every other team player by player. In the current economic environment, with several billionaire owners pouring money into their clubs, that sort… Read more »
In response to ‘MTZ’ I do agree that our tactics, player selection.. etc. have a bearing on the outcome of matches. But mentality in sport is so key, if not, its just as paramount as the tactics & the team selection, they way we set up etc… If you genuinely believe you can beat your opponent, you tend to be victorious. Chelsea have a lot of quality, but I don’t think their squad is that much better then ours. I think it just boils down to believing we can beat them, and right now we just don’t have that belief… Read more »
There is definitely a mental block there which makes us believe we cannot beat them. Additionally, I think we are naive and don’t do what needs to be done in the big games. By this, I mean we have to be willing to play Chelsea at their own game. If they are fouling us and stopping our attacks, we should foul them, we should be trying to get into their heads, making fouls, wasting time, getting in their faces, sitting deep and playing 18th century football. Hazard should never have been allowed anywhere NEAR the box to begin with. He… Read more »
I couldn’t agree more. I think that is 100% the way we need to approach the games with Maureen. We need to be as cynical as them. As I said in a previous comment on another article, it was clearly evident that Maureen had made a point to his players in his pre match discussions that he wanted them to completely kick us off the park. Lets not forget that Maureen’s tactics are seriously difficult to overcome. Even the ‘great’ Alex Ferguson struggled to find a way to beat him. The only manager I can think of that was able… Read more »
Pep for next Arsenal manager… gets my vote
Its not going to happen until or unless AW gets a plan B and some strategy and tactics into the formula. And his subs are ridiculous and usually far too late. Wrong selections both on and off. I am loosing faith I really cannot see any signs of a plan B, just same old same old… Its a real shame because I believe that this bunch of players could really crack it, but with a different tactical approach.
couldn’t agree more, glad to see some sense in this thread!
It takes him ten games to get back up to speed and to his best?
Sorry that doesn’t cut it in this league. A few bad results and that could be your season. Give me a break. Jack needs 5-10 games to get his sh*t together — meanwhile we’re losing. This kid just doesn’t have it. Never wil.
Confidence is key and alot of our players seem to lack it.we need momentum after the break lets not lose another 12games.
You can definitely see the improvement in Jack’s game. After making his trademark dribble, he is just now beginning to find the right pass to make. Whereas before I always thought it was inevitable the move would come to nothing, it now feels likelier that he’ll force an opening. That said parts of his game are frustrating, most of all the way he drops back every time to receive possession instead of moving forward into space. Not that he’s the only one guilty of that in our team, but it shows why Ramsey’s movement into the box was so critical… Read more »
Agree with both points. It’s funny actually, part of the reason for Ramsey’s form going down from last season is that he’s now too eager to score. Meaning he’s abandoning his other midfield responsibilities and timing his runs more like a striker than a goal scoring midfielder. Wenger said he needs to go back to basics and if he does I’m sure he’ll rediscover his form of last season. Wilshere has a lot to learn from him. A lot has been made of his poor touch through on goal against Chelsea (vs his amazing touch against City btw) but what’s… Read more »
Not sure if its been said, but although we have had a disappointing start to the season so far, if we can take 32points from our next 12 games (10 wins 2 draws against Man U and Pool) we will end 2014 on 42 points, the same tally we were on last season. Im not sure if this would be enough this year to be top going in to the new year, however it will mean we are well in the mix. Lets hope with players coming back in to the team over the next few months we can really… Read more »
I’m hoping when Theo’s back we have him and alexis wide, wellbeck up top and Ozil in the number 10 role.
The 2 that play behind those 4 don’t really matter from an attacking sense. They should be told to sit, win the ball and find one of the front 4 in space… Which is basically what Chavski do.
Either Wenger makes Ramsey & Wilshere work as a pair in a 4231 or one of them simply doesn’t play it’s as easy as that. Ozil has to be in the middle at 10, wide positions need to be occupied by Ox/AS/TW/SG and Santi who along with Jack could cover for Ozil when we rotate
lol rotate
A lot of ppl on here speaking some good stuff unlike the lot on Arsenal fan tv YouTube channel.. You should’ve seen some of the comments..
I think most were expecting a Pires type second year from Özil and are disappointed so far. I am one of them I will admit. Just hurts a little when Cesc was ruled out, it was because of Özil and there is a distinct difference in their production so far. That game was just tough to watch. Jose played Jose tactics against us, physical and we still cannot cope.
Sry off topic!
But I’m listening to the live arsecast at the moment, perhaps video coverage next time!?
Szczesnys comments here show exactly why we have such a dismal record against the bigger teams. He thinks chelsea are a better team and that’s that, no problems if we lose, they’re better anyway. Pathetic attitude.
Seems wilshere is the first choice 10 when he and Ozil are fit. Then why did wenger spend that amount of money on Ozil then?
Disagree – it’s the standard rhetoric in a football interview.
Players always mention “it’s a difficult place to go” or “team x are a good side” even if they’re playing a team at the bottom.
Don’t read too much into players/managers interviews.
Why do people keep saying Ozil is being sacrificed for Jack? This was only true when Ramsey was fit and Wenger wanted to play both Ramsey and Jack (instead of just one) in addition to a DM. Currently, Jack has only replaced Ramsey as the holding mid, with Santi playing the number 10 role. Both Santi and Ozil want that no. 10 position. And since Wenger doesn’t seem to want to play either one of, but both, one of them will definitely get shunted to the wings. We can only play both in the middle if we either have a… Read more »
Exactly! People on here are so blinded by their bias to see that it’s CAZORLA that has replaced Ozil in the middle, not Wilshere! It’s probably because Cazorla would tuck in more in the middle of the park and has a higher work rate, but also because Ozil has license to roam from the flank anyway and wouldn’t need to track back because of the three in midfield. Ozil out wide makes sense from a counter attacking perspective too
Not getting on any bandwagon, but does anyone else feel the outcomes against the big teams would be different with either Klopp or Guardiola on our bench rather than Wenger. I for one do.
Klopp yes..
Guardiola…dont care
Off Topic:
Is Abu Diaby injured?
Yup, apparently he has a hip problem.
Yes I concur. Not only different but better!
Not a question of mentality. More of experience. Chelsea(Mourinho) and us (Wenger) are differing in approach. Where Chelsea are ready made we have to balance more experience with future capability. Thereby they shade us on experience at the moment Point in case Welbeck. He’s settling in quick and over a longer term a great prospect. But Costa is just ready to go. However anyone who thinks we can waltz in and get Costa for 30m plus is delusional That price is set on no competition to Chelsea. If we go into a bidding war with them, they can push price… Read more »
Many looking forward for Walcott’s return and licking their lips about his combo with Ozil. Well, don’t get your hopes too high. Ozil and Walcott will end up playing on opposite ends thanks to the gaffer’s desire to play Wilshere. Sentiments aside, I think the team is suffering. Wilshere hangs on to the ball longer than necessary and he runs into blind alleys most of the time. Ozil is clearly the better man. One thing puzzles me…why pass up Fabregas because you have Ozil and then play him elsewhere. Baffles me on end but what do I know…Arsene knows I… Read more »
Abu Dhabi has a hip injury apparently.
As for Jack, I can’t see where he has improved. Still runs into corridors, still his passing is off and still falls over too easily. He was absolutely awful in the first half against Chelsea. A lot better in the 2nd half but still needs to be a lot more consistent and also man up getting tripped really doesn’t hurt that much.
I thought the Live Arsecast hit some really good points: Wenger only has one strategy pack the midfield and let them perform a miracles if things are not working out there is no second plan. Too many square pegs trying to fit into round holes. Not a match against an organised disciplined team like Maureen’s lot. Problem is with Jack’s poor touch is that he should of scored and that tipped the balance heavily in chavs favour. They had the game under control and their second was inevitable. Wenger does not know tactics and like his panic signings he does… Read more »
I personally prefer Jack to Ramsey. If they’re both not going to click together, i’d take Jack any day. It’s pretty obvious wenger is trying to make a place in the team for him
Ramsey would be my choice if I had choose between the two of them. Jack still makes some poor decisions – often instead of releasing the ball to runners, he dribbles into 3 opposing players and loses the ball.
Bad boy Jack..less talk, more work..
Let others decide when you improve.
Jack wilshere = The Arsenal Hand Brake
Unfortunately, when Jack has a good game, Jack has a good game. But when Ozil has a good game, THE TEAM has a good game. Can you spot the difference Arsene?
When you push Ozil wide to accomodate Jack, you hurt the team.
FFS it’s CAZORLA who has taken Ozil’s #10 role!! NOT Jack. Jack has only replaced Ramsey! Jack is the holding mid. So unless Ozil has now magically become out holding mid. It is Santi’s position of CAM he is vying with. Not a CM.
Good grief, this is getting annoying.
Anyone that would pick Jack over Aaron is just being silly to be honest
Based on this seasons form?
Seeing some incredibly negative comments about Wilshere in here, particularly odd as he’s been on our better performers this season so far. Can’t help but feel people are ignoring his improvement because they’ve already made their minds up about what our best team is and he doesn’t fit in it. He didn’t fit in mine but his performances have changed my mind! Been reading the kind of comments I’d expect to hear from Liverpool fans; I suppose you lot would prefer Henderson! The idea that Wenger would change his formation to accommodate Wilshere alone, especially when Ramsey isn’t fit anyway… Read more »