Arsenal: Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey realizing long-lost Wenger dream

Arsenal turned to Jack Wilshere to help them cope with Aaron Ramsey’s absence, which may in fact be the realization of long lost dream.

Arsenal’s draw with West Ham didn’t cram too much excitement in the jar, but there were certainly plenty of talking points to take from the match, most of which concerned the back four and it’s potential viability.

There was just as much excitement over Jack Wilshere‘s first start of the Premier League this season. The Englishman is healthy, he’s been ready to go, and he went. Quite effectively, in fact. Wilshere became the pivot that was lacking and sort of looked like a mixture between Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin. He combined the fierce tackling of Coquelin and the dribbling and deft touches of Cazorla.

Maybe the finishing of Coquelin too, but you can’t have everything.

That said, for as good as Wilshere was, he isn’t going to be enough to replace what Aaron Ramsey brings to the club. That isn’t an indictment of Wilshere’s ability, it’s praise for how important Ramsey was.

Ramsey brought that superstar mentality. I talk about this so much, but in the midst of Alexis Sanchez going into the death spiral of certain doom, Ramsey has stepped up in a big way and has hit top form, accounting for tied for tops on the team for goal contribution.

The Welshman carries with him that incredible ability to pop up where he is needed when he is needed there. Wilshere doesn’t have that. And you can’t teach that, it’s just instincts. I don’t think I can name anyone else who is as good at popping up in dangerous positions quite like him.

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That said, I’m not backing down from my earlier claim that Wilshere is flirting with – dare I say it again – being “irreplaceable.” The fact is that these two midfielders are dynamic in their own ways. In the same way that Wilshere can’t replace what Ramsey brings, I don’t believe that Ramsey can do some of the things Wilshere does either.

I just think it’s more defined when trying to replace Ramsey with Wilshere because Ramsey has proven his threat to goal a bit better than Wilshere has, at least in terms of consistency.

The good news is we might not have to worry about this much longer. There is a clear path to Ramsey and Wilshere powering this midfield for the long run, which is probably something that Arsene Wenger has dreamed of since they came up as teenagers.

Next: Arsenal vs West Ham Player Ratings

Perhaps we are seeing the long-lost realization of that dream.

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