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He received the ball at the center circle, charged through, pushing of a yellow jerseyed defender in the process, looked up and put in a ball that the quick right winger got on to – though his shot cannoned off the Brazilian custodian – and Rooney scored with a delightfully precise and quick shot. But as everyone knew the goal belonged as much to Rooney as the latest English sensation, Jack Wilshere.
Jack’s rise has been steady. He did not burst onto the scene like Rooney or even Walcott, he made it up through the age divisions in the England setup. He played for the England Under-15’s and subsequently was called up for the Under-18 squad. Arsene Wenger knew he had something special on his hands as he recently said in an interview, ‘I knew Jack was a cut above the rest in that match. Versus the West Ham youth team, he slid in a pass that Pires would have been proud of and a goal that Cantona would gladly add to his collection’. The moment though that threw him into national focus was the FA Youth Cup final, where he completely dominated Liverpool, putting in two assists and a goal and a Man of the Match performance. Loaned out to Bolton, Wilshere reaffirmed his reputation, and when his loan ended, the Gunners had found their next homegrown hero.
Wilshere returned to the Emirates a hero and played the part. He got his 1st senior goal for Arsenal against Shakhtar Donetsk in a 5 goal bashing at the Emirates. The goal was a delightful chip over Pyatov and showed the world that not only could he begin incisive moves, he could also finish them too. But the performance that shot him into the world spotlight was his imperious Man of the Match performance in a 2-1 win over Barcelona in the 2010-11 season. Against the likes of Puyol, Pique, Xavi, Busquests and Iniesta, Wilshere belied his age and magnified his ability, dictating the game and its tempo singlehandly against arguably the best midfield and pressing side in recent history. He had a pass completion rate of 91.5, dropping back to do shifts on Iniesta and Messi and nullifying the effect of Barcelona’s tiki-taka with his own ability; no mean feat for a single person, leave alone for a 19-year-old! Indeed, it was no surprise that Dani Alves called on Wilshere to join the Catalan giants. Another thing that would endear him to the Arsenal fans is his loyalty, which evaporated as a whole with Cesc, Van Persie, Song, Nasri etc. leaving the club year after year.
English captain Steven Gerrard recently said, ‘Wilshere is a great talent, and he has the chance to be one of the best, and he’s only 21 and he will get better as he matures and that in honesty is a scary prospect. Even in training, he gives all he has and one can instantly see that he has something that will differentiate him, at the highest level.’ No mean praise from one of the best midfielders the world has seen, Wilshere does indeed remind one of a youthful Gerrard. He has the same passion, the same fearlessness while tackling, the same recklessness and the same sense of authority and responsibility. Wilshere is perhaps a shade better than Gerrard at a similar stage, his creative superiority without doubt making him the most creative midfielder England has seen.
Even the recent defeat to Bayern was an occasion when his class shone through. Though he normally partners Arteta as a holding midfielder, he started the game behind Walcott and had a good game, but while Bayern had Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez in the center, the holding pairing of Arteta and Ramsey got overrun, with Wilshere having to drop back to re-establish parity.
Over the years, Arsenal have been described as a team having a soft belly, a team that gets bullied around easily, though this was not the case during their golden time at the turn of the century. Vieira, Bergkamp, Overmars, Kanu and even Seaman were strong characters who were tough competitors and Wilshere seems to have that; be it his fight with Micheal Owen or his refusal to be bogged down by Stoke’s physical approach, Wilshere brings something to the table that every football fan loves. Heart. And it is this heart that makes him an inspiration to his team, with Wenger, Gerrard and Hodgson already touting him as a future national captain.
As his manager Arsene Wenger described him, ‘Wilshere is a player with a Spanish brain and an English heart’. He is not your typical English midfielder, he’s much more. He ticks all the boxes, he has a deadly left foot and a good enough right one. He is tireless, the only box-to-box midfielder in England (he even makes those Lampard-esque runs sometimes) and I believe the best at it after Schweinsteiger and Khedira. He can tackle well and can take a knock as he demonstrated after Kompany’s lunge in the 2-0 loss against Manchester City. But the things that make him more dangerous are his vision and a very refined sense of ball control. His awareness of teammates’ runs was at display when he picked out his teammate Walcott time and again with barely a look. He can dictate play from deep and is equally potent in the hole behind the striker.
Fans of England and the English team have seen many false dawns, let us hope this is the real deal.
