Arsenal: Releasing Jack Wilshere removes no-cost chance

There are a growing number of reports suggesting that Arsenal are prepared to walk away from Jack Wilshere in the summer. It would not be wise; it removes the no-cost chance that is worth taking on a talented, if oft-injured and unproven, player.

The future of Jack Wilshere is very much up in the air. When he returned from his year-long loan spell at Bournemouth with a broken leg and uncertain position in the squad, it is not all that surprising to see how such ambiguity could arise. But since that time, the landscape has changed, both for Arsenal and Wilshere, such that the delay and the confusion is a little baffling.

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Wilshere had to wait patiently for his opportunity this season. Confined to little more than lesser cup appearance and late-match Premier League run-outs, his playing time was either severely limited or substantially less meaningful. Arsene Wenger was cautious.

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But as the season has progressed, injuries and suspensions have hit, and chances have arisen, Wilshere’s role in the squad has grown, so much so that Wenger chose to rest him on Sunday against Watford ahead of Thursday night’s second leg with AC Milan, a game that is now the biggest of the season up until this point.

Nevertheless, while his reputation is slowly being repaired, his future remains unsolved, with some even suggesting that now is the time for Wilshere and Arsenal to let go of one another — the piece in The Telegraph is very interesting and is well-worth your time if you get the chance to read it. The problem with allowing Wilshere to leave, however, is simple: Cheap potential.

It would not, in the grand scheme of things, cost Arsenal all that much to keep Wilshere in North London. Even if his wage demands were higher than expected, perhaps in the region of £100,000-a-week, for a club as wealthy as the Gunners, that is a cost that is easily absorbable.

Moreover, they would not be losing out on a potential recoupment from sales as Wilshere would be leaving on a free. What they would have to pay in keeping him, then, combined with what they would not lose out on in terms of fee, means that Wilshere is actually extremely cheap, especially for a player of his natural talent.

And this is the key: Wilshere is one of the most naturally gifted players in the squad. In terms of sheer potential, he may have the highest ceiling of any player that Wenger has, even including the myriad of talented youngsters at his disposal or the established and esteemed Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Wilshere is yet to hit his best. Some may argue that he may never reach his full potential. That is a perfectly fair argument. But given the cost, or the lack thereof, Arsenal may as well take the risk. They aren’t really losing anything in doing so.

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Wilshere has been merely good this season. There have been glimpses of his explosive, slithery best, but he has not been consistent and has been poor in a number of matches. Nevertheless, the potential is still there, and for that reason and that reason alone, swinging for the fences is a low-cost risk that Arsenal should be happy to take.