da bet7： Arsenal are, again, at a bit of a crossroads. Granted, we’re only just past the halfway stage of the season, but Arsene Wenger’s Gunners are unlikely to win the Premier League title, are set to face Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, are out of the League Cup and, as the cliché goes, anything can happen in the FA Cup. So, the north Londoners could quite realistically end 2016/17 with no silverware.
da dobrowin： Should this happen, a summer transfer overhaul may ensue, especially with Wenger’s own future up in the air, as well as doubts surrounding Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s long-term status at the Emirates Stadium.
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This could open the door to comings and goings, and Jack Wilshere’s name is sure to crop up. Indeed, the midfielder, who is currently on loan at Bournemouth, is – according to the Mirror – set to make a call on his future at the club when his season with the Cherries comes to an end, and he could well end up back in the capital after a decent spell on the Dorset coast.
We think he could be worth keeping hold of, and here are THREE reasons why…
Fit at last
For years now we’ve all had to endure ‘Jack Wheelchair’ jokes, with the midfielder’s fitness issues having been the narrative of his career. Granted, the critics have lots of ammo to repeatedly fire at the player’s inability to get on the pitch and Arsenal’s treatment of Wilshere off of it, but at long last it looks like the playmaker is back to being a regular starter.
In fact, Wilshere has already made more appearances than in his last two season combined while on loan at Bournemouth and is only 375 minutes adrift of the overall he managed on the pitch in 2013/14 – to put that into perspective, just over four more full 90-minute outings will see him surpass that total this term.
This could be the season in which Wilshere puts his trouble behind him, and there’s no doubt that his technical quality matched with being regularly available will make him a player Wenger will want to keep around.
Better forward-thinking option than Arsenal’s current central options
There are number caveats that go with this, such as Wilshere being the ‘main man’ at Bournemouth and Arsenal’s midfielders playing a variety of roles in the centre of the pitch, but, on the whole, the 25-year-old has outshone all of his major counterparts back at his parent club.
Gunners stars such as Santi Cazorla, Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin (all of whom have been playing centrally and have made a significant number of outings in the league this season) are some way off Wilshere’s return in a per-game sense, with his key passes (1.41) and chances created (1.47) particularly notable.
On top of that, the England international has completed 2.65 take-ons and hit 1.12 shots-a-match. Perhaps Aaron Ramsey would be a more direct comparison, but the Welshman has played a significant chunk of his minutes from wide positions, which is seemingly where Arsene Wenger sees his future.
Xhaka issue
FIVE – Granit Xhaka has been sent off more times than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues since the start of the 2015/16 season
It may look like we’re picking on the Swiss star, but his atrocious disciplinary record makes him an issue for Wenger. The aggressive midfielder will now miss the Gunners’ coming four domestic matches after a wild lunge at Burnley’s Steven Defour on Sunday, and not having a central midfielder of his quality available will cause problems for the Gunners chief. On top of this, Cazorla’s best days are very much behind him and there are doubts about Elneny’s overall quality, even if he is a solid option.
Wenger will need to look at adding to his midfield options in the summer it would seem, so having Wilshere back makes sense in that his qualities are known and he’s already bedded in at the Emirates Stadium.
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