Arsenal: Jack Wilshere requires accommodations be made

Arsenal has an impassioned young midfielder who wants to make a difference in Jack Wilshere and his very presence demands that accommodations be made.

Arsenal’s midfield may well be the thinnest position on the pitch, but it is also undoubtedly the position with the most potential. In Aaron Ramsey, you have someone who can change the game. Someone who can be world class when he’s in proper form and healthy and someone who can inspire those around him with his own play.

In Granit Xhaka, you have the best long passer since Xabi Alonso, who can pick out runs from half a pitch away.

But then there is Jack Wilshere, who has always had the future of England and Arsenal on his shoulders. No pressure. The pressure never amounted to anything anyway though, as injuries got in the way.

However, when Wilshere is healthy, there are few who do it better. He is a sublime, intelligent player that really has no limitations. He can score, assist, dribble, tackle, he can do it all. And as such, when he is at full health and match ready, the club has to pull out special stops to accommodate his presence.

That’s just how talented it is.

There is a lot of discussion going around about how Wilshere needs to be immediately inserted into the starting XI and many are suggesting that Ramsey is dropped. But this is completely unnecessary as Ramsey falls into the same category as Wilshere – when healthy, a must-start.

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The 3-4-3 is a really awesome thing when it’s used to the best of its potential. I fell in love with this formation because of the freedom it allowed Ramsey to have and because of the added security of having another center back.

But lately, it hasn’t been following through on that initial burst of potential.

Instead, the team may benefit from swapping to a 4-3-3, letting Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac suit up in their natural positions and letting Ramsey and Wilshere flank Granit Xhaka. There is a certain, assumed risk here, as Xhaka is not a ball winner, but with speedy full backs and an organized center back duo, there shouldn’t be any reason to fear.

The 4-4-2 is also a potential, but then Mesut Ozil’s desire to play centrally would again be pushed to the side.

Wilshere has to play, and he has to play often. You can run the risk of him ditching the club next summer. Arsenal is where his heart lies and that’s where he should always be.

That said, Chelsea might not be the best time to make this switch, as we have beat Chelsea in two massive matches, consecutively, with the 3-4-3.

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Whatever the case, it’s vital that we get Wilshere into that starting XI as soon as possible, but with as little damage to what is working as possible.

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