Arsenal: Ruing Jack Wilshere Loan Deal Utterly Shortsighted

Jack Wilshere is on loan at Bournemouth while Arsenal are suffering a central midfield injury crisis. Ruing his departure is a shortsighted stance, however.

The injury onslaught is here. Arsenal, like every season, are coming to a crucial period in their season during which they must manage to continue picking up precious Premier League points without many of their star players.

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The one position that is especially depleted is central midfield. Santi Cazorla suffered an ankle injury early in the year, one that eventually resulted in him having surgery, keeping him on the sidelines until at least mid-February, Mohamed Elneny is at the African Cup of Nations, and will be absent for the next month or so while Francis Coquelin has re-injured his hamstring, meaning he will now miss the next three of four weeks.

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As such, only Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey remain as true, central options available to Arsene Wenger in the squad. Consequently, thoughts have arisen surrounding the decision to loan out Jack Wilshere in the summer. When asked if he felt that he could use the now Bournemouth midfielder, Wenger admitted that he could, but also defended the initial decision to let him leave:

"“Yes, I could use Wilshere now. What looks unfair at some moment in the season is that you know at some stage you could need the player. But even at the start you need to have the right balance between competition and numbers and chances for the player to play. And still today I think it was the right decision for him to go.”"

While the abilities of Wilshere are relatively undefined – few agree on his best position, his best attributes and the value that he would have in a title challenging squad – there is no doubt that another body, at this point in the season, would be of huge benefit to Wenger.

Nonetheless, as Wenger rightly points out, ruing such a loan deal when game time for Wilshere up until this point would have been limited at best is a shortsighted stance to take. The now 25-year-old is desperate for a regular run of starts to build upon and prove his overall match fitness. Holding him in a large squad, merely allowing him to stagnate in the reserves, serves little to no purpose.

There have been rumours that Wilshere will exit the Emirates on a permanent deal in the summer, with his contract at that point dwindled down to just 12 months remaining. While I do not see that happening – I believe that Wenger still sees him as the potential linchpin of the side in the future – loaning him out was in best interests of both the club and the player, however short Arsenal may feel right now.