Arsenal vs West Ham United: Jack Wilshere or we riot

Arsenal have West Ham after a frustrating draw against Southampton and all I have to say is Jack Wilshere or we riot. There are no more excuses.

Arsenal will be looking to rotate their club as much as possible without losing out on whatever potency they are perceived to have. Southampton was a deflating effort that followed an even more deflating effort against Manchester United.

Deflation is a tough trend to stop, and it’s even tougher to stop when two guys who have made a huge, huge impact on the team thus far – Aaron Ramsey and Shkodran Mustafi – will be missing due to injury.

In their stead, the Arsene Wenger has some choices to make. For Mustafi, there are merits to giving Per Mertesacker a shot at redemption, but there are two young, athletic Englishman that could also be utilized.

Or, if he’s feeling spicy, Wenger can swap to a back four, risk everything in the defense, and hope that the midfield can do the job they’ve struggled to do all year.

Even without Ramsey, who has been our best player this year. Which transitions into the point that I want to make, which is that if Jack Wilshere doesn’t start against West Ham, we riot. I’m not sure what form this riot is taking, probably just a Twitter rant, but the point remains the same – Wilshere absolutely, positively has to start.

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There are few times when I have been 100% certain that something has to happen. I can’t even think of one off the top of my head. But there is no wiggle room here. There are no excuses. The only other alternatives are Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny.

The sad thing is, Wenger has a tendency to err on the side of caution, which would mean he would go with Elneny. Which is a horrible thing to think. Coquelin provides the ball-winning we crave, but with a hefty dose of accompanying recklessness and just about zero ability to push play forward.

If Wilshere does not start against West Ham, we might as well wave goodbye to the Englishman. Why would he hang around at the club, no matter his history, if they don’t give him a chance? It is senseless. But I’m getting ahead of myself. He’s still on pace to start.

Next: 3 Reasons Granit Xhaka Should Not Be Dropped

We still don’t know what Wilshere can accomplish as an every day guy. We should, but we don’t. We can finally make one step closer

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