Jack Wilshere, once upon a time, tipped to be the ' The next Big Thing' , expected to fill into the shoes of Steven Gerrard for the national team and lead Arsenal and England to success on the big stage, but the midfielder from Stevenage has fallen behind since, and has lost out on his starting place for both club and country.
The drive, the passion, the desire, expressions that you would automatically associate with Wilshere all seem to have gone missing. Those driving runs from the center of the park, those beautiful, Scholes-like pinged balls, and those inch perfect passes all seem like things from the past. Wilshere's problems have continued off the field as well, getting caught smoking TWICE, excessive partying to name a few. He has been developing a bit of a bad boy image and Wenger and Hodgson will be taking note of his latest antics.
Wilshere was a firm fan favourite. Local boy, came through the Arsenal Academy and made his debut at the tender age of sixteen , giving it his all in every appearance , Wilshere possessed the rare talent of getting the fans off their seats every time he came on the ball. You could see how much it meant to him to play for Arsenal, to play for the club of his dreams. He was the DNA of the side, a player who all Arsenal fans immediately associated with themselves.He was a player but first a fan. Jack Wilshere was Arsenal personified. He had a fire in him, one that could be seen in his eyes and identified in the way he played, almost Fabregasesque. Those tears after the loss to Bayern in the Champions League in 2012, stole the heart of every Arsenal fan . Jack was one of our own.
There were games where he single handedly pulled us across the finishing line, games where he was the oasis in the desert, the ray of sunshine on a somber day. Check out some of his videos against Liverpool and Newcastle in the 2012-2013 season and you will know what I am talking about. He took the game by the scruff of its neck and asserted his authority in centre the park. He had Steven Gerrard in his pocket in that game against Liverpool. If you told me then, that one year on Wilshere would be in the bench for the FA Cup final and will be a substitute in the World Cup Finals, I would have had a good hearty chuckle. As it turns out, I didn't have the last laugh.
The slump started in early 2013, after Wilshere's return from yet another injury problem, that kept him out for 3 weeks. He made his comeback against Norwich, and after that performance I remember thinking that this was just an off day for him, and our man would be back soon. Who knew that these were the performances we would have to get used to from our number 10? He has lost that burst of speed that was valued so high, all his passes are sideways, no penetrating through balls, no more audacious long range shots and the lesser the said about his goals, the better. A total of 6 goals in two seasons is less that impressive. Paul Scholes rightly said that Wilshere hasn't improved since he was nineteen, I will go further and say that he might have become worse. Tony Adams was spot on , when pointing out that the the arrival of Mesut Ozil should be taken as an insult by Wilshere. He seems a very jaded figure on the pitch, almost in reticence. He is no longer the man Arsenal turn to when they are down, Ramsey has long taken that place. Mentally, he seems to be in a different world, meandering around the field, not sure what he is doing there.
The talent and skill is still present, as was visible from that exquisite goal against Norwich City. We fans still love him, but we loved the older version more. Come on Jack, show us that magic you posses, show us you are as good as ever, we all miss that nineteen year old who gave Xavi and Co a lesson in midfield on ' That night' in the Emirates.
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