Arsenal Vs Atletico Madrid: Is Jack Wilshere ready?

Arsenal are preparing to host Atletico Madrid on Thursday night. The team is fairly settled, other than perhaps for one player: Jack Wilshere. Is he ready?

The Arsenal starting XI has been fairly settled for some time. Although we haven’t necessarily seen it all that often with the decreasing significance of the Premier League and Arsene Wenger’s rotational approach taking full force, it is fairly clear what it is.

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Petr Cech in goal; a back four of Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, and Nacho Monreal; a midfield three of Granit Xhaka, Jack Wilshere, and Aaron Ramsey; a front three of Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang/Alexandre Lacazette depending on the competition.

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And as the Gunners prepare to host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final of the Europa League on Thursday night, Wenger will have almost all of those players available to select. In fact, only Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been officially ruled out of the tie, though there are hopes that he will be fit to return by the second leg, and while there are some slight fitness concerns over some of the other players, all are expected to start.

There is only one player who I have reservations about starting — I certainly have trepidations about others, but given the lack of alternative options in the squad, there is nothing that can be done about that now. Jack Wilshere. Put simply, he is the individual in the worst form, coming off a niggling ankle injury and a couple of weeks layoff, with a plethora of other options for Wenger to turn to.

Mesut Ozil, for instance, would very much welcome a central role with Wilshere dropping to the bench. I am sure Alex Iwobi is desperate for playing time in the biggest games also. Wenger may even want to shift to a back-three system to counter the threat that Atletico pose, one that might see Calum Chambers come in for Wilshere.

It is not that Wilshere is not a bad player or even a bad selection. I have long been a fan of his talents and a supporter of his role in the squad. But the question of his readiness is a fair and pertinent one. This is one of the toughest games in the season for Arsenal. Does Wilshere have the form and the fitness to compete against?

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I do not know the answer to that question. Perhaps he is; perhaps he isn’t. But I hope that Wenger has properly assessed Wilshere’s preparation because he has other options that are not all that bad. I hope that Wilshere is ready. He needs to be.