Why Arsenal must keep their 26 year old talisman

There are very few players in world football that divide the opinion quite as Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.

Roy Keane labelled him as the “most overrated player on the planet.” While Gary Neville called him “the best English midfield player by a street.”

Let’s not get into this debate and focus on what’s on our plate.

When it comes to Jack Wilshere, no one can question his talent, his ability. A fit Jack Wilshere could get into any team in the world. As we all know, the only thing that has kept him from achieving his true potential is the injuries and his fitness.

But this season, surprisingly, the 26 years old has stayed fit and seems to be proving his doubters wrong, including his very own manager who was willing to let him leave at the start of the season.

“I just thought the combination of history, the fact that he’s a long-term player for the club, the fact that he has experience and knowledge now, I trust now to make him captain,” said Arsene Wenger in a recent interview.

From not being considered in the manager’s plans to come out as a candidate to be the next Arsenal captain – the journey that Wilshere has gone through is truly remarkable.

Being told at the beginning of the season that he wasn’t in the club’s plans must have left him devastated. He received offers from other clubs and he could’ve left. To be fair, most of the players would leave – not Jack.

The fact that he decided to stay and fight for his place speaks volumes about his mental strength. After that came the tough part – getting into the team. Initially, Wenger didn’t even consider him to be qualified enough to be on the bench.

The likes of Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny were constantly picked ahead of him. But Wilshere didn’t lose his hope, got his head down, worked on his fitness, and made the most out of every opportunity that he got.

The result? Wilshere is one of the first names on the team sheet and has featured in 17 Premier League games and 9 Europa League games.  

To come back this strong after a series of long-term injuries, and a failed loan spell has left us surprised. Even Gareth Southgate, who isn’t his biggest fan, had to make room for him in England’s squad.

All of this makes us wonder if this could be the start of something special. With the World Cup just around the corner, Jack Wilshere definitely has the chance to showcase his natural-born talent and establish himself as one of the best midfielders in the game.

When fit, Jack Wilshere is easily a 50 million player in today’s market. If you count in the love he has for Arsenal, the passion with which he plays the game, the mentality that he possesses, and the leadership qualities he shows…you simply cannot afford to lose him.

 

Written by Jay Thakkar

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