What Is Jack Wilshere’s Best Role?
Jack Wilshere was the only bright spot from the recently held England friendly game which ended 0-0. The midfielder ended the season by retaining the FA Cup and seems set to start next season in better shape after recovering from an injury which plagued his season. The midfielder has played in a range of positions and his role in the England friendly might have opened a few eyes as to what his real position is.
An Attacker or a holding midfielder?
Arsene Wenger has deployed Wilshere is a variety of roles during his Arsenal career, Wilshere has played as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder, winger, and a playmaker. He was part of a midfield trio against the Republic of Ireland as Jordan Henderson and James Milner played alongside him.
Wilshere was the deepest of the three players, which might have been a surprise for most people, but he seemed to be the best player on the night and could have found his role for the future. Wilshere was brilliant in the deeper role and was the one player who was free and looking to make those important passes.
Henderson, Milner, and Wilshere were all playing in unfamiliar roles as a midfield trio, but they did a good job together. All three love to press the opposition and if Wilshere is to play in this deeper role, he would need to make his tackling better. During the game though, he was exceptional and was always looking to get forward and help out in the attack. He was looking for those one-twos as well and tried to keep the play ticking along for England.
The great thing about this midfield trio was that when Wilshere went ahead, Henderson or Milner came back to help out in place of Wilshere. This is something that might work at International level but if Wilshere is going to play in this sort of role for Arsenal he might have to curb his instinct of always wanting to take the ball forward.
Arsenal have players like Cazorla, Ozil and Coquelin who could pair up with Wilshere in midfield and apart from Coquelin none of the other players are defensive minded, this is where Wilshere would probably have to curb his enthusiasm and hold on to his deep-lying role. If he can adapt his game to this position, he could actually increase his stock in the Arsenal team. Currently, it is extremely hard for Wilshere to get a spot in the top attacking role as Ozil, Ramsey, Walcott and Sanchez rotate for three positions.
Wilshere’s role as a deep-lying midfielder might be the next big thing in his career and if he can constantly play at the level he showed against Ireland in the friendly, Arsenal could have found the answer to their midfield problems.
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