Arsenal: Arsene Wenger cannot allow past pitfalls to bite Jack Wilshere

Early on, Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal career suffered from positional uncertainty. Against Norwich City, he again drifted between different positions. Arsene Wenger cannot allow past pitfalls to ensnare him once again.

The Arsenal career of Jack Wilshere is a frustrating one. Bursting onto the scene with vigour and energy, he broke into the first-team line-up during the 2010-11 season, forming a fluid and vibrant partnership with Cesc Fabregas at the heart of the midfield. He was brilliant. But ever since that season, the heights that he reached have never even been glimpsed on.

Injuries have the primary reason for Wilshere’s impediments. Weak ankles, in particular, have scuppered any progress that he might have made, rarely allowing him extended periods of full fitness. He was always rehabilitation from one injury or the other, always trying to overcome the lingering restrictions of a past problem. And injuries should be blamed for Wilshere’s untapped greatness. But there are other, less spoken of, reasons.

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One I want to highlight in this piece is the role of Arsene Wenger. Wenger is a uniquely intelligent and studious manager. He is a tinkerer of players, a coach, a fine-tuner, an engineer, as much as he is a manager. Because of that, he has tutored and masterminded the development of many wonderful footballers, altering aspects of their game, adapting them to particular roles and responsibilities that see them flourish. But for all the good that his meticulous tendencies bring, he has also over-complicated his management, fixing for the sake of fixing, simply getting in the way of what should be a more natural progression.

This is especially true in regards to the positions of players. And Wilshere is a prime example. As he established himself as a prominent member of the first team, such were his inordinate skills, leading to great versatility, Wenger could not quite decide where Wilshere’s best position was. As a result, it was a regular occurrence to see him play in roles that did not best suit him. One week he’d be a roaming, engine-guzzling box-to-box midfielder; the next he was a drifting, gliding, inside-out winger; the next he was the anchor at the base of the midfield.

Because of this consistent shifting from position to position, Wilshere’s game rounded out, rather than sharpening. He did not become an expert in any aspect of the team. He fell foul to the trait of versatility; he slipped through the cracks of Wenger’s fiddling fingers.

The reason why I discuss this is simple. During Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Norwich City on Tuesday night, Wilshere and Alex Iwobi continually swapped positions between central midfield and inside-left forward. After half-time, it was decided that Wilshere would play in central midfield, sitting a little deeper than his Nigerian counterpart. But for the first half especially, there was great confusion over the position of the two players.

For one game, this is not a particularly significant issue. Against teams who are intent on sitting deep, compacting the space, and remaining positionally disciplined, it is important to have a fluidity of movement to break them down. But if this is a trend continues — Wilshere shifting from position to position, unsure of where he will play from week to week –, then Wenger faces the consequences of his past mistakes again coming to bite.

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As Wilshere continues to work his way back into contention for the Premier League, he needs a level of surety to provide a protective foundation to work from. He needs to know that his body can support him; he needs to know that Wenger has a future plan for him; he needs to know what position he will play, and then be played in that position. Wilshere needs a certain and unquestioned role. It was a pitfall that Wenger dug last time; this time, he must put his spade away.

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