Arsenal: Is it actually possible to play Jack Wilshere?

Jack Wilshere impressed himself on Arsene Wenger with a fluid and creative performance on Thursday night. But is it actually possible to fit him into the Arsenal Premier League team?

Jack Wilshere played his best game of the season on Thursday night against BATE Borisov. Fielded in a free-roaming central role, he flourished, enjoying the license to drift into the pockets of space in between the midfield and defence. He scored his first goal since May 2015, assisted another, and created five chances in total, more than any other player on the pitch. He was sensational.

And after the game, when asked about his performance, Arsene Wenger insisted that Wilshere is now fully ready to play, no longer working towards full-match sharpness as was the case earlier in the year:

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"“You could see tonight that he is ready now to play. He is sharp. He is quick. He is incisive with his dribble. Technically he was very good tonight. I would say for 70 minutes of the game he was dominant in midfield on the creative side and that’s very good news for us.”"

That is a feeling that most people ascribe to. I am one of those people. And I am looking forward to seeing Wilshere play in the Premier League. He is yet to start a league game this season, but there are growing clamourings for that happen, and I do believe that Wenger wants to make it happen. The problem, however, is a simple one: Where would he play?

In Arsenal’s current 3-4-3 system, Wilshere has been used as one of the inside-forwards playing off the central striker. That is fine in the Europa League team. But with Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette making up the front three in the league, it is difficult to see how Wilshere should ever play over any one of them.

So that leaves the midfield, where there are only two positions available. One is filled by Aaron Ramsey, who may be the best player in the squad, on current form; the other is filled by Granit Xhaka who provides a crucial defensive balance to the midfield, something that Wilshere would not be able to offer.

In the 3-4-3 system that Wenger is employing, there is no space for Wilshere to start. Either there are better options who should be playing ahead of him or his inclusion would be a detriment to the balance of the side. So the only way to squeeze him in, would be to shift to a four-at-the-back, something that I cannot see Wenger doing given the success his side has had in the 3-4-3 shape.

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There are few people who want to see Wilshere play in the league more than me. I love him, and I feel that he is deserving of his shot at redemption. But it is not easy to simply crowbar him into the team. In fact, in the current shape, it might not even be possible. That is a great shame indeed.

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