Arsenal: At least we have a solution for the character problem

Arsenal has had their cojones questioned and unsurprisingly, their has been a defense. Thankfully, that defense may actually have a savior.

Arsenal’s defeat at Watford had one big takeaway – the question of character. Troy Deeney called out our lack of “cojones” and Tom Cleverly smelled blood in the water. Everyone had something to say about the weaknesses of the visitors.

And of course, when people say things, our people get asked things. Arsene Wenger and Jack Wilshere both said the exact same, uninspiring thing – “you can’t question our character.”

To which I just stare blankly at. The fact that people have been questioning the character of this bunch for years can’t be done away with by being told that you can’t do that. The way to get rid of that kind of talk is to actually show character.

Spoiler alert, there wasn’t character against Watford.

That’s the bad news. This team lacks character and I refuse to be convinced otherwise. Now that I’ve given you the bad news, here’s the good news – we have a solution. And it’s such a simple solution that it’s akin to just sticking a plug in the outlet. Bam. Electricity.

The solution is Jack Wilshere. When he said we can’t question the squad’s character, my first thought was “no, correction, we can’t question your character.”

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Wilshere has more character than nearly any two players combined on any given matchday. He has suffered so much at the hands of cruel, debilitating injuries and he always manages to come back stronger. That is character.

He has stuck with the club through thick and thin – that’s character.

And you want to talk about what he does on the pitch? He’s an innovator. He’s a creator. He has so many fresh, clever ideas, seemingly by the minute. The very essence of “Wengerball,” which I will go ahead and dub “goals with character,” is Jack Wilshere.

That goal that he concocted against Red Star Belgrade? That was an infusion of character in a game devoid of character.

The problem, of course, is that if Wenger doesn’t see character as a problem, then why would he look for a solution? You don’t fix what isn’t broken and that doubles with Wenger, because it takes him an extra month or two to recognize when something is broken.

Next: Arsenal's Predicted XI to Face Everton

I want nothing more than to see Wilshere’s name in that starting XI. Nothing would unite this club’s tortured supporters quite like rallying behind the prodigal Gunner.

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