The Jack-Wilshere-hating fanatics have largely died down, but they’re always one bad performance away from making absurd claims like “Jack Wilshere invented disappointment” or “Jack Wilshere is an undercover Tottenham agent sent as a lad to dismantle Arsenal football.”
It’s tragic really, because Wilshere has proven what he can do when at full fitness, but injuries have always seemed to derail him. Yet injuries are never what’s to blame. It’s always Jack Wilshere’s fault that he isn’t playing.
Arsene Wenger has to start Jack Wilshere against Crystal Palace. I placed him in my Starting XI with the belief that Wilshere is absolutely itching to get back on the pitch and from what we’ve seen of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud, coming back from an injury under Shad Forsythe can be life-changing.
Since being photographed holding a severed human head, I mean a hookah pipe, Wilshere has reaffirmed his love for the club, something he didn’t need to do ever since he headbutted Marouane Fellaini and widdled his way into Gooner’s hearts for eternity. This lad is Arsenal through and through.
For Arsene Wenger to start Jack Wilshere would imbue the young Englishman with confidence. It would send the message that Wilshere is an irreplaceable part of the team. It would tell him that despite the positive run that Arsenal is in, that there will always be a place for Wilshere and his headbutting antics.
Wilshere has a lot to prove. His goal scoring has never come around, nor have his assists, and apparently those are the only two stats that matter. We saw what Wilshere can do when he gets fully fit, he was in great form before going down this year and he’ll look to continue that form as soon as Wenger gives him the playing time, which should be tomorrow against Palace.
Even if he doesn’t start, Wilshere can make a huge impact on the team and can make a massive statement with a fantastic performance, something we can learn to expect from the maturing midfielder.
There’s a spot to be filled in the starting XI. With Coquelin holding down the back, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla holding up the attack, that leaves a slot open for Wilshere to fill as the box-to-box midfielder, the slot that Ramsey vacated with his latest injury.
It’s time for Jack Wilshere to start his legacy!
