Arsenal: Max Meyer is like pushing reset on Jack Wilshere

The Arsenal train is not stopping for anyone, not even Jack Wilshere, and if the talk is replacements, then no one does it better than Max Meyer.

Arsenal are transitioning, and as we saw in January, that transition period waits for no man, not even the prodigal son of this football club, Jack Wilshere. From the moment he hit the first team, he had the reigns of the team at his disposal.

And yet, injuries got in the way time and time again, and here he is, at 26, and still a bunch of potential to bank on and not a lot of hard-core, season-long dominance.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just hit the reset button and jump back to when Wilshere was 22 years old and on the brink of capitalizing on his lifelong potential?

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Well, that’s impossible. But, indirectly, we can do that. By picking up Max Meyer for free. Because if Wilshere is really ready to leave for free, then the only way to make that hurt less is to land someone for a free who has just as much potential and not as much of an injury history, with the versatility to play anywhere in the midfield.

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The best part about Wilshere’s younger days is that the world was open to his potential. He could play deeper, sweeping up play and pushing forward. He could play traditionally box-to-box, dabbling in all facets of the midfield world. He could even play what his number suggests he play.

Nobody wants to see Wilshere go, but if you can construe his exit as a sign of progress, as they did with Olivier Giroud, upgrading to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then we are in serious business, even if the emotional toll may tug at our heartstrings a bit.

The simple truth is that Meyer has been cruising on potential as well throughout his teen years, but he has settled into a brilliant spot now, at the age of 22. A spot that Wilshere is still looking for.

In the name of progress, wouldn’t it make absolute and complete sense to upgrade WIlshere with someone who is arguably more settled and four years younger, with just about all of the same perks other than an emotional connection to the club?

I’d say so.

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As much as I’d hate to see Wilshere skedaddle, letting him skedaddle in the name of bringing in Meyer (who should be brought in anyway) is as much of a sure thing as we can bank on.