If pressed to think about Premier League players who encapsulate the phrase ‘Missed Potential’, you might cast your mind towards the phrases, ‘Balotelli at Liverpool’ or ‘Adebayor at Tottenham’, but perhaps at the top of that list would sit Arsenal misfit Jack Wilshere.
A head-strong player, once touted as the saviour of young English football but riddled with misfortune, the outcast midfielder now finds himself playing out the rest of this season at Bournemouth AFC. Despite the much-maligned move to the league minnows, there is a case to be made that this can only be a good thing for him.
Wilshere has pedigree. As a 16-year-old, he made his debut in the Champions League. He left former manager Fabio Capello’s jaw on the floor after playing in England’s friendly against Denmark in 2011, and in 2013 Bastian Schweinsteiger (years before he became an out-of-favour midfielder himself) touted him as “one of the best midfielders in Europe”.
A Career of Missed Opportunities
Problems, however, have come thick and fast, namely in the realm of injuries. After impressing in the aforementioned friendlies, he was ruled out of the 2012 Euros with a stress fracture and missed most of the following season.
Recent times haven’t been kind to him either. In the preseason to the 2015-16 Premier League, he broke his fibula and was ruled out for one month – which in turn stretched to a further three months, and it wasn’t until April that he played his first top-flight football of the season, subbing on for Mesut Ozil in the 84th minute against Sunderland.
Despite the frustration, his burgeoning talent has always shone through, and he was deemed vital enough for inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign. Here, the additional problems were compounded, and he was given more than his fair share of the blame for their woeful performance – despite only playing a short spell during England’s four games in total, often as a substitute for Wayne Rooney.
Now, thanks to a deadline day loan deal, he finds himself in the squad of Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. To Arsenal, this marks a half-conclusion to an awkward love affair, marked by misfortune. To a lot of pundits, this is a calamitous fall from grace.
Re-Bourne
Will Howe nurture him in the way that Wenger could? No, but at least he’ll let him play. With the arrival of Xhaka at the Emirates this summer, Arsenal’s midfield ranks have only been bolstered, and the problem induced Wilshere, who has been kicked around positions ranging from Box-to-Box, holding midfielder, winger, and No.10, finds himself with less opportunities to get game time and get back to his full fitness.
If he wants to continue to grow as a player, he needs that all-important top-flight football. Having waved away interest from clubs like Milan and Roma, and chosen to stay in the Premier League, albeit it with a smaller club, he remains very much in that fight. According to Howe, his presence as an England-capped, top-flight veteran (and all just at age 24), is already “inspiring” the players. Their passing style of football might well suit a man who cut his teeth in the Arsenal academy. On top of that, he gets to play right behind his best friend, striker Benik Afobe. Afobe, the godfather to Wilshere’s first child, is credited with having helped Wilshere make the decision to come to The Cherries in the first place, having pointed out all the good qualities of the club, the manager, and their history.
Wilshere’s Future Prospects: Far From Over
As John Cross of the Mirror pointed out, Wilshere commanded 22 different loan offers when it was announced he was up for grabs. Whatever he’s got, people still want it. That includes Arsene Wenger, who doesn’t view this as “goodbye”, but more like, “see you later”, and has said in uncertain terms that he is hoping Wilshere will see his career out at the Emirates. Bournemouth will benefit from the talent he brings to the table. He has already said, “I’m ready to push myself,” regarding the move, and it seems that far from being in danger of having his level brought down, hopes are that this move will raise their game as a whole.
He’s already made his mark, impressing during a friendly at Milan last week, and bringing with him that steely determination that gave him the reputation as a tough lad; the exact kind of determination Bournemouth need if they want to survive in the Premier League that has only got harder. But the eyes of every critic, fan, well-wisher, and the armchair pundits will be on him for this weekend’s clash against West Brom, where he will undoubtedly find a place waiting for him in Bournemouth’s first XI.