Arsenal: Jack Wilshere shows signs of a blossoming life

In the first half of Arsenal’s 4-2 win over BATE Borisov in the Europa League on Thursday night, Jack Wilshere was at his wonderfully creative and incisive best. He is showing signs of a blossoming life once more.

Jack Wilshere’s career at Arsenal seemed dead in the water. Rarely is it the case that Arsene Wenger allows a player of his age — he turned 25 at the start of 2017 — to leave the club on a season-long loan if he has plans to use him in the future. That is exactly what he did with Wilshere. And when the midfielder returned to North London with a broken leg, he saw several players now in front of him in the queue for playing time.

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However, despite the uphill battle to first prove and maintain his fitness and then vindicate his ability, refinding his best form, Wilshere has set about his task admirably, having played three games so far this season, two of them starts.

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And it was in his latest start, Arsenal’s 4-2 win over BATE Borisov, in a tricky Europa League tie on Thursday night, that Wilshere looked to be, slowly, returning to his very best. He played the full 90 minutes, the second time in succession that he has done that, which for a player of his famed injury issues is a significant achievement, and, for the first half at least, was a class apart from those on the pitch with him.

Playing in a free-roaming inside-left role with the midfield protection of Joe Willock and Mohamed Elneny limiting his defensive responsibilities, Wilshere was given the license to drift throughout the pitch, exploiting his positional intelligence and spatial awareness to find those pockets of space in between the midfield and the defence.

He was consistently open, always looking to receive the ball to feet, always looking to turn, drive and play forwards when he was in possession. He had the same explosive burst off his first touch that defined his younger game, and played with a great energy and intention, especially early on.

What was most pleasing about his performance, though, was the control and creativity of his passing. He simultaneously set the tempo of Arsenal’s play in the attacking and provided the impetus and drive to cut through the Borisov defence. He linked up with Olivier Giroud brilliantly, playing those quintessential one-twos, buzzing around the penalty area, sniffing out his opportunity to strike.

He scored one, although it was ruled out for offside, should have scored another if Theo Walcott hadn’t dallied, and littered his performance with deft touches, subtle shifts of movement, vicious speed-of-thought, and penetrative passing.

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This was, for 45 minutes, at least, Wilshere at his best. Now, the quality of the opponent must be taken into consideration, and his level of performance certainly tailed off as Arsenal enjoyed less and less of the ball and he seemed to tire. But this was another blossoming display from a player that few would begrudge one last first-team opportunity. He must now prove that he can play at such a level on a consistent basis. The signs of life are there; now, he must bloom.