Former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has touted the Arsenal teenager as England’s ‘Pirlo’.
There are two real questions that hover over midfielder Jack Wilshere at present, firstly – when will he be back?
He first suffered an ankle injury way back last June, and exacerbated it in pre-season against the New York Red Bulls last July.
It was at first only going to keep him out for a matter of weeks, then September turned into October, and before Arsenal knew it, 2011 turned into 2012 as a series of setbacks played havoc with his rehabilitation schedule
Even as recently as February, Wenger was still banging the drum declaring he would be back before the season ended, which only geared supporters up for more disapppointment.
Wisely he was not rushed in Euro 2012 and is unavailable for the Olympics too, and underwent surgery on a minor knee injury in May, a further setback.
Even now it it still unclear if he will be back for pre-season. Wenger has wisely not predicted that he will return for training on July 9 with the rest of the squad, and at this point supporters would be sceptical of any such promise.
Wilshere making pre-season really is important to his recovery. After missing so much time from playing regular football – a whole season – he already risks being off the pace, and a pre-season would do him the world of good. Miss that and the road back to he first team may be all the more challenging.
It’d be unlikely for Wilshere to take on the same gruelling schedule as his teammates on their return, a dedicated training schedule would be devised for him, with the aim of getting him ready for pre-season friendlies.
And this is where the second big question comes in – Are Arsenal fans expecting too much from Wilshere?
When he left off, he was an integral part of Arsenal’s first team, and England’s. Will he go back to this standard straight away? It may take him a little while to re-adjust.
He only had one full season with the Gunners under his belt – plus half of one on loan at Bolton – before missing 2011/12, and while it won’t be a case of starting completely all over again, he will start halfway up the rung rather than at the top of it.
The good news for Arsenal is that their midfield looks different to when he left. Wilshere played far more than he should have done in 2010/11, clocking up 49 appearances in total.
Wenger has been overly keen to protect youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this year, completely at odds with his approach with Wilshere, when the teenager featured in nearly every match.
Wilshere found himself in this position because of Arsenal’s lack of decent options in midfield. Tomas Rosicky was injured and out of form, Aaron Ramsey was injured, and so was Abou Diaby.
Alex Song has really stepped up over the past 12 months, improving hugely in quality offensively, Mikel Arteta has been a superb addition, while Tomas Rosicky has re-discovered his mojo. Arsenal have also been strongly linked with Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila, which would give Arsenal yet another option in the centre of the park.
These options would allow Wilshere to ease his way back in, rather than being thrown back in through a lack of alternatives.
Even with this in mind, Arsenal fans should be advised to lower their expectations a tad. Harry Redknapp going round proclaiming Wilshere as England’s answer to Andrea Pirlo won’t help ease the pressure on a frustrated footballer who hasn’t kicked a ball competitively in over 12 months.
Arsenal finished 19 points behind title winners Manchester City last season, and yet some fans are proclaiming that Wilshere’s return will lead the Gunners to a league title next season, and there have been a number of articles written on fan forums and around the web about how the 20-year-old can do so. Simply Google ‘Wilshere lead Arsenal’ to see for yourselves.
Putting such pressure on him can’t be a good thing, although a bit of casual optimism on the face of it is well intended.
If he can get back to the sort of form he showed before his injury, he will be a huge asset for the North London club, Arsenal are strengthening and looking good for next season, providing they keep hold of their enigmatic captain. But supporters should not obsess over Wilshere’s return.
It will happen eventually, it has to, but Gooners should be protective over the hype that the press and observers like Redknapp are placing on him, and not add to it.
Are you concerned about the expectation levels on Jack Wilshere when he makes his return?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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