Arsenal Wildcard Jack Wilshere Could Make Huge Impact

Arsenal has been unable to rotate their squad since very early on in the year, but that is about to change. Jack Wilshere may be the most exiting return of all.

We have not had the pleasure of talking about Jack Wilshere all season. He has not been smoking, partying or posting his workout videos. He did put his mansion up for sale, but who actually cares. Unless you’re in the real estate market for a mansion, in which case I’ll be quiet.

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Given the recent news of the trio of Arsenal men returning to training, we can finally talk about Jack Wilshere again.

The young Englishman has returned to Arsenal training along with the steam tank Francis Coquelin and the stallion Danny Welbeck. While we know what each of them will bring, we do not know what impact Jack Wilshere could have.

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Coquelin will return to defensive midfield and duel it out with his new Egyptian bunk mate Mohamed Elneny. Everyone wins. Danny Welbeck will put some hypothetical pressure on Giroud, ideally. Everyone wins.

But where does Jack Wilshere fit in? He is going to have to squeeze himself into a rotational battle with the likes of the Ox, Walcott, Elneny, Ramsey, Coquelin, Alexis, Campbell, Ozil, Arteta, Flamini, Rosicky and more. That is a lot of people. Breaking it down by position, it may be spotting Mesut Ozil a breather that Wilshere makes his biggest impact.

In the summer, I made the rather absurd claim that Jack Wilshere could compete with Mesut Ozil for the No. 10 role. Naturally, I did not have the foresight to pick out the fifty or so assists the German maestro wass going to put up this year. I was basing that claim strictly on how well Jack Wilshere had looked in his brief appearances last season.

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Make no mistake, Wilshere was incredibly impressive. He makes some ill-advised runs, but unlike the Ox and Walcott, he doesn’t just wither and collapse when he runs into a crowd. Wilshere is a bulldog. His determination is to die for. Putting him at the occasional No. 10 spot could unlock a hidden gem. With him driving the attack forward, Arsenal’s attack will be a headstrong force.

Whereas Ozil is all about slow, deliberate passes and picking out his Arsenal team mates’ runs, Wilshere provides a more direct approach. His passing ability is not Ozil’s (whose is?) but he has a good eye for the pass. He also has a fantastic left footed shot. His pace is superior to Ozil’s and he possesses a good technical touch as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want Ozil out there all day, everyday. But Wilshere provides such a nice contrast to Ozil that it could catch teams off guard, much like the swapping of Giroud and Walcott did to teams earlier in the year.

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Wilshere still has a tremendous future at Arsenal. It is getting crowded in that midfield, but thankfully, Wilshere is proficient at just about any midfield position, with no glaring weaknesses other than his rambunctious runs, which are not even always weaknesses.