Arsene Wenger says Jack Wilshere is defying those who doubted he could return to the form that saw him become a regular for England in his younger years.
The 26-year-old scored his first Premier League goal for two and a half years when he put the Gunners ahead against Chelsea in Wednesday’s night’s 2-2 draw at the Emirates and the boss now believes he’s once again worthy of selection.
“I think he is at the level now where not many people expected him to be,” Wenger told his post-game press conference.
“When was the last time he played for England? Exactly, against Iceland [at Euro 2016], he came on.
“Since he has not played for England and I would say that means that everybody had given up on him.
“Today, nobody would be surprised if he was selected again. So that means instances of us being criticised for that, I think first of all he deserves a great credit for remarkable strength and we do as well.”
For his part, Wilshere says he enjoyed the atmosphere at the Emirates. Taking to social media he tweeted:
Fair to say i enjoyed that! I told you on this team we fight till the end. Important we didn't give up and got the point. Thanks to all of the fans tonight, one of the best atmospheres I've experienced at the Emirates! ?❤ pic.twitter.com/ZaoewVj11e
— Jack Wilshere (@JackWilshere) January 3, 2018
Here’s to even more from ‘Super Jack’ in the future.
Fucking love that guy.
So you are saying he is better than Jake Livermore? Who would have thought….
Someone should tell Southgate. I would say surely Southgate can see Wilshere quality right under his nose, npbut with that honker he probably can’t see much at all…
There’s a reason he’s Arsenal’s number 10. Sign him up, and give him the fuckn armband!
Sign him up!
Here here.
Just replace xhaka by anyone ( elnenny , coquelin ) to get the best from jack
Nah, they complement each other well as is. Jack can dribble out of tight spaces and create space further ahead, while Xhaka can bypass the opposition midfield with pinpoint long balls. Both are very disciplined in defense as well. I really do feel Chelsea’s midfield was outrun today (apart from the 80th minute mark onwards), we just lack finishing further up the pitch.
I’m sorry I’m off the Xhaka train. At least as a regular starter. He definitely has skills that are good but his flaws just are too big. His skills are complementary to JW but only as the guy who will make those long passes. A player who will make solid passes to keep the flow going. His lack of quickness or speed is just glaring weakness that can’t be overlook even with more positional discipline. There has to be someone else out there with his skills with better quickness and speed to track back defensively on counters? Even Ramsey would… Read more »
Coquelin and Elnenny should not be starting in central midfield for Arsenal.
Pure Arsenal and still a leader on he pitch. FFS Arsene do the deal!
Really enjoyed his goal celebration last night. You could really see what it meant to him, and all of the team were so happy (look out for Holding and Xhaka’s reactions for example)
Always on top, but injuries had denied him a lot on his career, I guess this is the right time to say no to injured and be ranked Among the best. Sign him up Wenger because more is yet to come from jack??✔????
Best Among the best…sign him up
The thing Is, if Wilshere plays for England it may kill the careers of such talented midfielders as Henderson, Milner and Livermore…..
Are you suggesting Southgate doesn’t know what he’s doing?;)
Possibly the best English Midfielder. Fuck Dele Alli
Dele alli plays as a second striker and gets more luck in front of goal than lampard.i hope he signs for one of the bigger teams and rots on the bench for three years before returning to england to play for Stoke.
No thanks, I don’t want England breaking him again
This is a team without an identity, so let’s start building that identity again around Jack. Apart from the obvious home-grown academy stuff, he really plays football the old “Wengerball” way, something we have lost completely in recent years.
Great comment only matched by your great name.
Don’t wanna be a debbie downer, but Wengerball didn’t work that well the first time around either!
but it was still fun to watch. Nowadays, you have to watch the fading blue of Man City or the flying lizards of Liverpool to see anything approaching quality football. And don’t get me started on the boring football from the moaning devils…
He reminds me of a young player we used to have called Cesc!!! The determination and passion he shows cannot be bought. Definitely Arsenals next Captain.
To come back after the injury and score against Chelsea was memorable. Don’t go anywhere Jack. You are a Gooner. His reaction showed what it meant for him.
Maybe it’s cause I just had a double expresso, but last night ,was, on reflection, a joyous occasion.
1: Jack is back.
2: Mesut is with us!
3: AMN, what a fuckin player in the making.
4: The team is very much together (compliments to Wenger on that).
5: Ozil and Alexis will stay. Please don’t listen to god awful media hysteria.
The defence , while ragged, at last included players who need game time at the highest level………they’ll be ok, those two young CBs.
Now, let’s go and get some points.
Your 5th point makes me wonder if you had something stronger than a double espresso.
Reading between the lines, here is Wenger’s open message to Southgate: Come and get our Jack! You know you want to.
Best compliment I can pay him is he’s now playing like a man when maybe before he played like a boy.
He’s picking his moments better when to run with the ball and when to make tackles.
And he’s still young in football years.
Jack wears his heart on his sleeves and it’s red and white. With regards Granit, he is a bit of a conundrum. Clearly he has faults. But he is also at present one of our better options in midfield. As bad as he sometimes can be, Elneny is a mediocre option and Coquelin offers little offensively. Granit is infuriating bc he clearly has some excellent skill set in his locker but he isn’t consistent yet. His passing from deep is currently his biggest asset but he doesn’t engage forward as much as Jack does. OTOH he doesn’t lose the ball… Read more »